Rewriting Star Wars
by LeeWhittaker
Summary: Imagine if Star Wars was originally a medieval fantasy adventure. Would it still hold the same appeal? Author Lee Whittaker attempts to answer that question with this ongoing saga. New Chapters every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The blood on her hands washed off with surprising ease. Her limited working knowledge of medical aid allowed her to save the life of at least one of her comrades, but she did not have the skill to save everyone. As she looked at her palm, although she saw their cleanliness, the memory of red haunted her vision.

Once her hands were clean, her captors returned the handcuffs to her wrists. The clicking of the cuff's locking mechanism echoed with a terrifying finality. With an armored soldier at each arm, she found herself escorted out from the makeshift sanitation tent, away from the scene of bloody carnage towards the encampment of her sworn enemy.

Her mind replayed in agonizing detail the moments that would forever be etched into her mind. The hail of flaming arrows that seemed to launch from heaven itself. She had been awakened by the sounds of screaming. Her loyal entourage, trained soldiers sworn to defend her with their lives, met the end their duty by burning to death in a violent inferno.

She did what she could to put out the fires but was rapidly whisked away by her most trusted ally. She had known him since she was but a child. He was the first to join her cause, and did not once falter in his devotion to her. He carried her over one of his shoulders, the other bore a flaming arrow penetrating his armor and searing his flesh. She pulled it out for him, and while this act drew a cry of pain from him, his rapid strides did not falter.

He carried her through the forest to another encampment, where the advanced scouting party were entrenched.

"Do you have it?" His grizzled voice was more panicked than she could remember having ever heard it. "Do you have it?"

"Yes. Yes, it's here." She produced a small bauble wrapped in an handkerchief. "It's safe."

"It's not safe. It will never be safe. They know you have it and they will not stop hunting you until they get it back."

His warning was interrupted by the faint echo of ironclad soldiers marching in unison. The sound grew louder. They were closing in. Time was short. She had to...

It was too late for that. The moments that followed passed agonizingly slowly. She stood as if paralyzed, unable to affect the horrific events that unfolded around here. These men who trusted her, who believed in her, would not draw another breath.

Bladed metal stars, no bigger around than an apple and thin as a sword, spun wildly through the air, cutting down men and going again. These weapons acted upon the wills of their masters, spinning and changing direction, sometimes hovering, else they shot forward with unpredictable velocity towards their intended targets. These tools of devastation rendered her comrades into a bloody mess.

Stunned, and in shock, she looked down into the lifeless eyes of her life long friend. She did not have the tears to cry then, but she would, in time. The only sound was the coughing and sputtering of a young boy, wounded and covered in the blood of his fallen friends. She ran to him, and administered what healing she knew, cleaning and bandaging his wounds.

"What is your name, boy?" She asked as she tended his wounds.

Between coughs she could make out. "Jim, ma'am."

"I need your help, Jim." She said. "This is what they're after. If they get their hands on it, no one, anywhere, will be safe from them. You must guard it with your life, tell no one you have it, and find a way of getting it to Master Go. He's somewhere in the west province. Find him, tell him what happened here. He'll know what to do. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

She didn't have time to warn him or get his permission. He screamed in agony as she slipped the tiny bauble, still wrapped in a handkerchief, into a gaping wound in his chest before completely bandaging him up. The agony rendered him unconscious, which she hoped would mean they left him for dead with the others. She silently prayed for his success.

Her captors brought her to the great black tent which stood where the ashes of her own camp once was. The black tent bore red pennants which swayed in the ash filled breeze. She was brought inside the tent and forced to kneel to the armored woman who sat upon a throne carved from volcanic obsidian.

"Hello, my daughter." The woman said, with thinly feigned affection. "I'm disappointed in you."

This story was originally published on 4/27/13 at _mysocialempire(dit)net/rewriting-star-wars-archive _


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Drenched in sweat and blood, Jim awoke with a start. The ominous sounds of armored soldiers marching dwindled away. He drew a deep sigh of relief, and immediately wished he hadn't. The bauble buried deep into his chest stung furiously.

Jim's mind was lost in a maelstrom of swirling emotions. He hated that woman for being the bringer of so much death to his friends, his family. Yet he loved her unconditionally for the sacrifices she made just trying to make life for people like him that much better. He despised the agony she left him in, yet adored her for trusting him so completely with such an important task. He knew not what was inside his chest. He was in so much pain, he wanted nothing more than to lie there and die. In his heart, however, he knew the implications of what failing his appointed quest would cost the whole world.

His heart was a shining beacon for his mind to lead itself out of that maelstrom of emotion. Though it may cost him his life, Jim would complete the task laid out for him, and this bauble buried deep inside his chest would find its way to Master Go, as she requested.

Lying in silence, Jim waited, gathering his strength, until the armies of the enemy retreated completely. When he could hear them no longer, Jim reached out for anything with which he could pull himself up and out of the pile of bodies surrounding him. He found no such leverage. Limited in his options, he had to rely upon only his own strength to draw himself out of the muck of human carnage.

Seeming hours passed before he could stand upon his own two feet again. Exhausted, Jim barely noticed the trail of blood he was leaving behind him. Upon discovering his fatal error, he abruptly altered his course to the sound of a rushing river. There he washed himself of the incriminating evidence that covered his body. Surely the enemy would find their captor did not possess the bauble they vigorously desired, and would return to find his trail. He did not have the time or strength to cover his bloody tracks, the best he could do was try to leave his trail cold.

Once clean, Jim regained his bearings and resumed his journey to the western province to find Master Go. He relied heavily on the land around him for his sustenance, for his journey was a long one.

After three days of walking and sleeping under the cold blanket of stars in the sky, Jim found himself progressing even slower than when he started. He focused on moving forward, and chose to ignore the growing infection in his chest where the bauble was buried. Unfortunately, his determination robbed him of his perception, for he did not see the multitude of eyes watching him from the wilderness.

_This chapter was originally published on 4/30/12 at mysocialempire(dit)net/rewriting-star-wars-archive /_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The shade provided by the forest canopy did little to cool Jim from the heat of the day. It did, however hide him away from the Flying Fortress eclipsing the sun above him. It was indeed fortunate that they could not see him, for in his fevered daze, he was completely oblivious to their presence.

Jim felt himself slipping into unconsciousness with each hypnotically rhythmic step he took. Counting them to stay awake was not only futile, but counterproductive. He staggered, he faltered, and then he fell.

The numerous eyes that watched Jim from a distance unanimously took immediate advantage of him while he lay unconscious, prone and defenseless. They swarmed around him, and within moments any trace of his journey through their territory was done away with. It's as if he simply did not exist.

It was several hours later when Jim, dazed and confused, regained consciousness. His vision was blurry at first, but in time the vague shapes of men surrounding him began to take form. He was in a dark room, illuminated by flickering candelabras and torches lining the walls. Everything seemed to take on a golden hue in the firelight.

His breathing was deep, and unlabored. He could no longer feel the bauble inside his chest that hindered his breath and infected his flesh.

Jim's eyes shot wide. emThey took it!/em he thought. In his attempt to lash out and find the missing bauble, he suddenly realized the severity of his predicament. He was strapped to a table with leather restraints all over his body. He was unable to move, but made enough of a racket to attract the attention of his captors.

"Ah, he's awake." A tall, hooded figure stepped forward. As with all the figures around him, his hood concealed his face. All Jim could make out was the torchlight reflecting off their eyes. "Do not struggle. You were unwell. Rest and you will be well again. Struggle and you will make your injuries worse. We've invested much into restoring your health. Do not make us regret this investment."

"Where is it? Where is the thing you cut out of my chest? It is of dire importance that it be returned to me." Jim frantically begged for the bauble to be returned to him.

"It is unbecoming of property to be so uselessly noisy. If he utters another word, remove his tongue." The figure delivered this command to the others with frightful apathy. Jim clamped his mouth shut. He did not like being called property, but when tied down to a table, arguing with your captors rarely produces desired results.

Whatever arts these hooded kidnappers used to restore Jim's health seemed to work miracles. Within days, the infection was gone and his injuries were just scar tissue now. He was no longer strapped to the table, but instead spent his days caged with other prisoners, all of whom his captors addressed as 'property.'

He dare not speak for threat of violence, but always kept an eye out for the tiny bauble they stole from his chest. During that time, he found himself in the company of a rather talkative companion who was also rather thin and frail. He once told Jim his name was Cecil.

"'Allo, Jim." He'd say every time Jim was returned to his prison cell. 'Top 'o the mornin' to ya. What brings you here this fine day, I mean apart from our charming hosts?"

"Hold your tongue, property, before we cut it out."

"You wouldn't dare. Your masters would make property out of you before they let you devalue my only quality. I am fluent in almost every form of communication in the whole world. Cut out my tongue and you'll never sell me." Cecil loved taunting his captors with the only weapon in his arsenal, his words.

The guard walked away furious; he punched the wall as he exited the cell block.

"Well Jim, did you find it?" Jim shook his head 'no'. "Well, you had better hurry. Now that you're healed, it's only a couple more days until they put you into the next caravan to be sold. Physical labor is cheep to sell. They expect a much higher profit margin on me. I've been in a dozen caravans so far, but I get the feeling they finally found a buyer for me. It's about time, too. I'd rather be a slave in someone's possession doing what I do best than a prisoner doing nothing for no one."

Jim stewed over his situation. He wasn't quite sure what it was that he once had inside his chest. It was a small object, wrapped in a handkerchief, he never actually saw it.

The next two days passed slowly, and still no sign of the trinket he lost. Finally, in one last desperate act, he pleaded with his captors, as humbly as he could manage, to have the object returned to him. Tragically, not only did they keep the knowledge of what the trinket was and where it was located from him, they made good on their threat. They took his tongue.

_Originally published on 5/02/13 at __mysocialempire(dit)net/rewriting-star-wars-archive _


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Cecil was aware of their destination, but elected to withhold this knowledge from Jim. Instead, Cecil was hard at work teaching Jim a form of wordless communication without their captors discovering.

"Stick with me Jim," Cecil wordlessly signed, "We'll get you through this, together."

Jim's head banged the side of his cage when it unexpectedly hit a divot in their road. He tried to cry out in pain, but only a garbled mess came out. A flood of uncontrollable emotions seized him and he wept in frustration and anger. His mission, to tell Master Go of the capture of that woman, to give him that bauble, how could he have failed so completely? His words were gone. The bauble was gone. The world was doomed, and it was all because he had failed.

The caravan continued on, dispassionately. They stopped once for a meal break, then resumed their course. They maintained a backbreaking pace. Both Cecil and Jim were glad they were not among the slaves who pulled the carts. It was late in the afternoon when they came to their destination.

The caravan pulled up before a grand manner-house in the middle of a plantation. The announcement of their arrival must have preceded their own arrival by a few hours, for the Master of the house and a presenting of his servants were present.

Among them, a girl of plain appearance, stood beside the Master of the House. She spoke softly. "Is this it? They don't exactly have a large selection, do they, Uncle?"

"Go on, Lucy. Examine the selection. I trust your judgment." The grin on her face indicated the altitude of praise that statement was, coming from her uncle. She then walked over to the caravan, looking over them.

She slowly looked the caged slaves one by one, meticulously examining them as if trying to determine which ones would provide the most use for Uncle's plantation. Well tanned skin meant less chance of heat stroke working in the sun, and heavily muscled meant endurance for long hours without breaks, so she was very surprised to find the pale, skinny Cecil among the pickings.

"You are not a laborer. What good are you?" She asked, intending to sound more curious than offensive.

"What good am I? I am an interpreter. I am fluent in almost every form of communication in the whole world. Your Uncle is clearly a man of high standing in this region. A person of my skills could magnify his circle of influence to any corner of the world he so chooses." He said with a flourish, which seemed more than a little out of place for someone in a cage.

"Fancy talker, eh? I'll let my Uncle know." Lucy smirked slyly at Cecil, which for the first time, was an expression Cecil couldn't read.

Jim spent the entire time Lucy spent examining the selection curled up into a little ball sulking about his failure. "Excuse me," Lucy prodded him. "Might I see your face?" When Jim ignored the request, one of the hooded captors whipped him. He writhed and once again produced the same garbled yelp he did before when he hit his head.

He turned around and faced Lucy with such ferocity, she stumbled backwards. In that instant, the furious visage dissolved into one of compassion and curiosity. This Lucy, the master's niece, was the spitting image of woman who buried the bauble into his chest. The woman who he swore allegiance to and failed. What was she doing here? How did she escape her captors?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucy began to feel a little uncomfortable around this one. "Do... Do you know me?"

Jim attempted to ask her all the questions that flooded his mind, and when all that escaped his lips was the garbled swallowing sounds that his lack of a tongue produced he devolved into trembling sobs.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked Cecil, who put his hands around Jim to comfort his weeping.

"In an effort to defend my frail frame from our hosts, Jim here stood between me and their whips. He lost his tongue for his insolence." Cecil lied with such fluidity, it caught Jim off guard and his tears stopped short. He looked at the girl again. It wasn't her. She didn't have the same battle weariness which that woman bore. But if it wasn't her, she could easily pass for her twin. "I never go anywhere without him, so please, encourage your uncle to buy us both."

"I will ask him, but..." Lucy didn't feel certain about this Jim character. She walked back over to her uncle and told him her opinions. The uncle motioned for the caravan leader to speak with him.

"The one called Jim, he seems unstable, dangerous. Why should I buy him?"

"He has demonstrated fierce loyalty to his masters. He was wiling to defend this little trinket with his life. With this you will have all the leverage you will need ensure a long and productive ownership of this one." The slave-trader showed Lucy's uncle a little object wrapped in a handkerchief. Jim's eyes were fixed upon this object. He watched as they unwrapped the handkerchief to reveal a shard of broken mirror. Now that he knew what it was, he had to get it back at all costs.

-

Meanwhile, in the darkness of the flying fortress, sitting upon her throne of obsidian, the Queen sat gazing at a shattered mirror, which suddenly burst open with light. The image of the Lucy's Uncle and the Slave-trader appeared as though broadcast from the shard they held.

"I've found you." She sneered.

-

_This was originally posted on 05/04/13 at mysocialempire (dit) net/rewriting-star-wars-archive_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
Cecil bathed unabashedly in a luxurious suite. A servant of his caliber had to look his best for his master, so he took every advantage to look his best. Perhaps sculpting bubbles was unbecoming, but he didn't care. After the many filthy months he spent in that slave-trader's prison cell, he felt entitled to a little silliness.

Lucy averted her gaze for propriety's sake, despite the baths' soapy water censoring his nakedness perfectly. The responsibility of integrating these new acquisitions into the plantation's service fell to her. While Cecil bathed, she tended to Jim's many injuries. She needed to take a full accounting of the scars he bore before his service began. The slavers did a magnificent job of seeing his injuries healed properly, but these scars were not from the whipping of slaves. Where were they from? she wondered.

"Shall I address you as my Mistress?" Cecil asked, in a moment of sobriety betwixt his merrymaking. "It occurs to me that to avoid any social faux pas, I must become acquainted with the formal hierarchy of our new masters. Failure to do so would be ever so rude."

"Hmm?" Lucy asked, half because she was not paying attention at first, and half because his fancy jargon was occasionally beyond her level of education. "What was that?"

With a mix of feigned respect and a touch of infuriation, Cecil repeated himself, slowly, word by word. "What shall I call you?"

"Oh. Lucy is fine."

"I see, Mistress Lucy."

"No, just Lucy. None of this 'mistress' stuff, please. I'd rather not become accustomed to it."

"But you are the heir to this plantation, are you not?"

"I don't want to think about that. Honestly, I hate this place."

"Oh dear." Cecil said, only partially interested. "Whatever for?"

"Well..." Lucy's concentration was completely destroyed when her examining hand grazed the largest scar on Jim's chest. In that moment, her mind was flooded with images and sounds that overwhelmed her at first. She drew her hand back so rapidly, she gave the impression that her hand had been stung by his scar. "What was that?" The images floated around in her head, but she could not focus on what they were.

Jim knew exactly which scar she touched, but since this Lucy girl was an unknown factor in his quest, he elected to conceal the truth of his scar's origins. Having recently been rendered mute, this was simply done. He regarded Lucy suspiciously, but a thought lurked in the back of his mind, suggesting she may yet have a grander part to play.

"What happened, Lucy?" The situation gripped Cecil's complete attention.

"I... I don't know. I touched this scar and suddenly my mind was... I could see things; hear things..." She regarded Jim's scar as something dangerous.

"Touch it again," Cecil commanded, something he was not actually permitted to do. "I- I think you may have a... gift."

"A gift?"

"In my learnings, I have heard of people with unique talents, and societies who train them. Perhaps you have something lying dormant within you?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I'm not exactly a mystic, am I? Knowledge of something's existence is not remotely comparable to the power of first hand experience, as I'm sure you well know. Try it again."

Lucy reluctantly proceeded, stretching forth her hand toward the scar. The second contact lasted a brief while longer, if only by mere moments. But in that time, the face of the woman in Jim's past came instantly clear. She could see her lips move, as if talking to him, but the sounds of battle surrounding them drowned out the sound of her voice. Lucy felt a deep connection to the woman she saw, as if looking into a mirror for the first time.

She broke contact and fainted from exhaustion. Jim caught her before she hit the ground and could injure herself. He held her close, uncertain why, and gently patted her cheeks to rouse her to consciousness. With nearly depleted willpower, Lucy's eyelids narrowly parted, and with a quivering breath she inquired of Jim, "Who is she?"

-  
_Originally published on 5/7/13 at mysocialempire (dit) net / rewriting-star-wars-archive_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
The darkness of night concealed Jim's movements as he made his way to the Master's bedchambers. There was no time to lose. Now that he was healed and armed with the knowledge of the bauble's location, he could once again resume his quest to find Master Go.

The admonition Cecil gave him still echoed in his mind. "I'm on your side, Jim. But if I don't know what you want, then I can't help you, can I? Picking the lock to the barracks, huh? You're leaving. We could have a good life here, but you know that already. What is it that drives you. This drive cost you your health, your freedom, and even your tongue. What more are you willing to lose?" Everything. While there was still breath in Jim's body, he would stop at nothing to do what he knew was right.

He carefully passed by Lucy's open door, momentarily peering to examine her sleeping form. Her experience with attempting to psychically read his scar left her exhausted and drained for the rest of the evening. Even now she slept so soundly, he doubted she would wake before noon tomorrow. He whispered a little prayer for her in his mind before returning to his commitment.

Inch by inch, the door to the master's bedchambers opened. The hinges creaked terribly, a flaw the master refused to have mended. So it was only by his patience and determination that he was able to open the door wide enough to enter without making a sound.

Once inside, Jim looked about for the shard of mirror wrapped in cloth. They must have discarded the original handkerchief it was wrapped in when that woman hid it inside his chest. Therefore, its wrappings would be clean and new. Also, it would be of value, so somewhere secluded. Perhaps a chest of jewelry upon the armoire. Or in the draw of his bed-side table? Jim did his best to keep his cool as he searched throughout the various nooks and crannies for his bauble.

At that moment, a terrifying thought struck his brain, latched itself upon his thoughts, and refused to  
release him from its clutches. Four words that echoed in his mind and would not be silenced. Four words that filled him with paralyzing fear. Four words, that if not obeyed, would never leave his mind.

Check.

Under.

His.

Pillow.

Through sheer force of will, Jim moved himself from where he stood when the thought struck him and with each agonizing step, forced his feet to close the distance between himself and his sleeping master. He reached out with a trembling hand, and drew it back again. This feat would require the skill of a surgeon, quivering appendages would not do. Jim centered himself, abandoned his fear, and tried again.

-

The sun crested the horizon to east and sent a beam of light through a window, across the hall, and in through the doorway where it landed upon Lucy's face. Jim's original assessment of Lucy's sleeping in through noon may have come true if he hadn't left the door to her bedroom open.

She yawned and awoke from more restful sleep than she could remember ever having before. She arose, dressed herself, and ran into Cecil on her way to the kitchens.

"Mistress Lucy! Mistress Lucy!" Cecil whispered with some urgency. "There's an emergency!"

"Why are you whispering?" Lucy asked.

"I'm afraid our dear Jim has gone and done something rather foolish. He's gone. Sometime in the middle of the night he ran away."

"Oh no! We better find him!" Her concern for him wasn't the worry over lost property, but a deeper worry over the potential loss of life Jim faced by going out beyond the borders of the plantation at night.

"If he's in some kind of trouble..."

"I don't care about that. It's the Marauders out there that I'm worried about. If they find Jim..."

-

Originally posted on 5/09/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=93  
For a sneak peak at Chapter 6, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=97


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lucy and Cecil galloped across the countryside at break-neck speeds. The arabians they rode upon were bred for speed and carried them swiftly away from the plantation and into the wilderness.

Cecil explained to Lucy that while Jim still had his tongue, he confided in him that it was Master Go in the West Provence that he was sent to go see. Lucy could hardly believe her luck. Despite her uncle's admonitions, Lucy had built a relationship with the old hermit. More than once her life was saved from the marauders by that kindly old man.

Jim had quite the head start, but on foot he was extremely limited in the distance he could travel. Or so Lucy thought. Jim was a trained scout and messenger. Long distance endurance running was the sport of choice for messengers. Men were more reliable than horses when it came to seeing their cargo delivered.

In the distance, Cecil and Lucy could finally see Jim, running hard and fast. They pressed their arabians steeds to narrow the gap between them. They were still about a mile off when Jim was suddenly surrounded by the marauders who dominated this part of the wilderness.

Jim's rapid progression towards the West Provence was suddenly halted by the boar-mounted wild-men who surrounded him. He quickly counted more than a dozen of them.

One of these creatures, baring a standard painted on human leather, circled around him, then spoke. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" The others laughed and mocked Jim, like cats verbally batting around a small bug.

Jim assessed his situation. Horribly out-numbered, surrounded on all sides, and there would be no way he could outrun their mounts for long. He could try using the terrain to his advantage, but they had the advantage when it came to knowing the region. So Jim's focus turned to the riders. His best bet was to single out their weakest link, steal their steed, and give chase.

As they mocked and threw their jibes at him, Jim noticed one among them who was habitually glancing towards his comrades, as if seeking their approval. He's the youngest. Probably his first hunt. He's the weak link.

Before they could even blink, Jim threw the stolen kitchen knife he concealed under his clothes at the leader. It embedded itself deeply into the pole of the standard he bore. While the marauder's attention was distracted by the suddenness of the attack, they missed seeing Jim knock the boy off his boar and start riding off with it.

The boar was the size of a buffalo, and when it started galloping, no, stampeding, steering it was an absolute nightmare. Jim spent more time hanging on for dear life than worrying about his pursuers.

Now, but a half mile off, Lucy and Cecil could see Jim break free from the circle of boar-mounted marauders and give chase. He broke due south and seemed to be making a mad dash across the wilderness. His pursuers seemed to be keeping a healthy distance behind him, biding their time and letting him exhaust his boar before closing their trap.

The pair on horseback adjusted their course to intercept Jim. Their steeds found a burst of strength that propelled them faster, and quickly closed their distance to Jim. This enraged the marauders, who circled about the trio, attempting to block them in.

Jim jumped from his dire-boar to Cecil's arabian and took the reigns. Cecil was relieved to have a superior rider take charge of his steed, but his relief was soon lost in a dizzying flash of pain as an arrow ripped through his side. Everything in Cecil's vision seemed to pass in slow motion as he lost control of his body and fell to the ground. The shock of his injury combined with his concussion rendered him unconscious.

Option-less, Lucy and Jim doubled back to protect their fallen friend. They attempted to use their arabians to form a wall around him, but they were completely surrounded. They dismounted together, and Jim watched Lucy's back while she tended to Cecil. "He'll live, if we can get him out of here."

The standard barer took one look at Lucy and recognized her immediately. "You," he growled from behind his mask, "You have trespassed on my land before." He dismounted and slowly crossed toward where she stood. "This will be your last time." He removed the standard from his staff and tossed it to one of his lieutenants.

Jim bravely stood between Lucy and the Marauder Captain, but his mighty backhand dislocated Jim's jaw and knocked the lad sideways where his underlings held him fast. Then the Captain raised his staff to strike Lucy down.

Lucy was quick on her feet and dodged the first to strikes, but was knocked unconscious by the third. Jim struggled futilely against his captors. Despite the pain in his jaw, he tried to cry out, but only a garbled, wordless mess was uttered.

While Lucy's unconscious body lay prone and defenseless on the ground, the Marauder Captain drew a knife and knelt down beside her. It was the same kitchen knife Jim hurled at him earlier. He held the blade downward and raised his arm high up into the air.

_Originally posted on 5/11/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/rewriting-star-wars-post-archive_

_For a sneak peak at Chapter 7, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/rewriting-star-wars-post-archive_


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jim clenched his eyelids tightly and turned away from the scene of the Marauder Captain murdering Lucy with the same knife Jim stole from her kitchens earlier that evening. Consequently, Jim almost completely missed what happened next.

A soul-piercing shriek echoed through wilderness, followed by eruptions of fire exploding from the ground as though a line of buried cannons were discharging their ammunition one by one, and they were getting closer.

The Marauder Captain was struck with terror and dropped the knife harmlessly to the ground. The marauders could not retreat fast enough. Even the loyal arabians abandoned their masters to find safety away from these volleys of fire and earth.

Jim dropped to his knees when his captors released him and fled. The explosions continued to draw closer and closer until one erupted right underneath Jim. He braced himself for death. And yet, there was no heat, no fire, no eruption that any of his senses could detect. He opened his eyes and looked around him. There was no devastation, no debris, nothing. Despite everything he thought had transpired around him, the evidence of it was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, the only thing that was different around him was the appearance of a gray-haired, bearded fellow wearing a cloak that seemed to made of the same terrain of the wilderness upon which he knelt. It was impossible for Jim to discern where the cloak ended and the ground began.

Jim tried talking, but only garbled mumbles came out. "Hello there." the old man said. "Come here, lad. She needs your help."

The old man tended to Lucy's wounds, restoring her to consciousness. "Go? Master Go? You... how...? I thought we were dead" emMaster Go? He found us!/em Jim was ecstatic that his mission was almost at an end.

"These marauders are easily frightened, but they will return in greater numbers. It seems your friend is still in need of assistance."

Jim and Go helped Lucy to her feet. She looked over at Cecil. That arrow still gruesomely protruded through his body.

Jim flashed a look of almost exaggerated concern on his face. Lucy nodded and turned to Go. "Will he live?"

"He's lucky. The arrow missed any vitals. Quickly, help him up onto one of your horses."

"But the horses ran away." Lucy began protesting when she saw her arabians returning with the same speed with which they fled. "Did you...?" She shot a suspicious glance at Master Go, but elected to drop the issue. Cecil's health was far more important.

Originally posted on 5/14/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=106  
For a sneak peek at Chapter 8, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=109


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Lucy helped Jim relocate his jaw while Master Go tended to the arrow that pierced Cecil's body. They all worried for Cecil's recovery, especially Jim. Now that his quest to find Master Go was complete, Cecil was the only way to communicate, to relate his experience with the glass shard and that woman. He had to know. He had to be told. He would know what to do, if only he could listen...

Once Cecil's condition stabilized, Master Go washed his hands and returned to the others, bearing a tray of sun-dried fruits. "Here, eat. And tell me, Lucy, why are you once again trespassing on Marauder land? Tempting fate?"

"Not on purpose, Master Go. Jim, here, is a slave my Uncle owns. He ran off in the middle of the night looking for you. Cecil and I tried to find him before the Marauders did. I guess I failed."

"Failed in your desire to pass unseen, perhaps, but succeeded in seeing yourself and your company survive the encounter. I would call this a win, child."

Lucy nodded and gnawed on a dried strip of something orange that tasted faintly of a mango seasoned with cloves. Jim was nervously manhandling the fruit offered to him, and Master Go noticed his anxiety.

"What troubles you, boy?"

Jim pursed his lips in a frown, he despised the idea of embarrassing himself with uttering only burbles without his tongue. Without Cecil to translate for him, what was he to do?

"The slavers cut out his tongue, Master Go. " Lucy explained between bites. "Cecil was teaching him this kind of whistling speak, but only Cecil understands it."

"That's inconvenient." Master Go shot a glance at the comatose patient lying on his bed. "Jim, I'm terribly sorry about what happened to you. I want to ask you a series of questions, I want you to look at me and nod your head yes or no in response. Can you do that?"

Jim nodded yes. He was excited to be communicating, but was doubtful that his message would come through.

"Is your name Jim?"

Jim nodded.

"Are you a slave of Lucy's Uncle?"

Jim hesitated at first, but ultimately nodded.

"Did you run away last night?"

Nod.

"Did you run away to find me?"

Nod.

"Do you have a message for me?"

Nod.

"Was this message from a male?"

Jim shook his head.

"Female." Master Go rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "What did she look like?"

This question was more of a means to focus himself into more yes or no questions, so he was surprised to see Jim intently staring and Lucy.

"Your message is from Lucy?" Master Go asked, incredulously, somehow knowing he wouldn't be going through this game of questions if it were that simple.

"No... but the woman who gave him the message looks a lot like me... no, exactly like me." Lucy explained.

"You know this? How?"

Lucy divulged her experiences with touching the scar on Jim's chest. She expounded upon the visions that invaded her mind and how they came to be there. "Is Cecil right? Do I have, what he called, a 'gift'?"

"That you do, child. That you do. What you've tapped into is but a small part of the talents that lie dormant in you. Were it not for this gift, I would be unable to sense when you are in danger and come to your aid."

"You have the gift, too? Are you one of the teachers Cecil spoke of?"

"I was, once." Master Go seemed to drift off in thought. "Years ago, I was once a Paladin of Fi. I served the Council of Rivers and trained Paladins and Clerics in the art of The Way."

"The Way?"

"The Way is how you were able to see the visions that were tied to Jim's scar. It is a frequency shared by all matter. Nothing can exist without it. It binds the universe together. Paladins and Clerics of Fi dedicate their lives to The Way to harmonize with this frequency. A Fi draws their power from being in harmony with The Way."

Lucy thought about what Master Go was telling her, "Can you use The Way to see the visions I saw?"

"Jim," Master Go turned to the boy. "May I see your scar."

Jim perked up, nodded, and lifted up his shirt. Master Go stared intently at the scar. "You were cut by Dynasty Soldier's Flying Star. Then the woman gave you a message, and hid something of great importance inside of you. Do you still have the item?"

Jim pulled the handkerchief-wrapped mirror shard out of his pocket. He tried to hand it to Master Go, but the old man just stared at it, intently, before waving it off. "I think it best if you hold on to it, Jim. If I touch it..."

"What will happen? What is it?" Asked Lucy

_Originally posted on 5/16/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=109_

_For a sneak peak at Chapter 9, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=110_


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Go continued to regard the bauble suspiciously. Lucy repeated her question. "What is it?"

"It's a piece of the Mirror of Ages," Master Go began. "Long ago, Paladins of Fi created artifacts that were permanently tuned to The Way and could be used by anyone. The Mirror of Ages allowed the user to see any place in the world they so desired. It was broken. Now all it shows is the location of the shards until it is restored." Suddenly, Go became deathly serious. "Never unwrap that shard, Jim. The soldiers who attacked you, who gave you your scars, are searching for that shard. It must be taken across the sea to the Isle of Alder. There it can be destroyed and the Dynasty can never use it against us."

Jim nodded soberly and returned the shard to his pocket.

"Which reminds me, Lucy, your mother wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it." Go rummaged through an old chest and drew out a thin stone. It wasn't much to look at, so when Lucy handled it, it just felt like a cold bit of rock. "It was you mother's Way Stone. It is the weapon of a Cleric of Fi. The stone will take on the form of any matter you require of it." Lucy didn't see the metamorphosis, but when she looked again, the stone had taken the shape of a small dove.

Go looked at the stone dove and smiled. "You must learn how to follow The Way if you are to come with me to the Isle of Alder."

A light of hope shined inside of Lucy with the prospect of leaving her dead-end life as a slave-owning plantation farmer. She wanted this. Her heart desired adventure. But that light was rapidly extinguished by the tyrannical voice of conscience. "I don't know... I mean, Alder? That's so far away. The slaver's are near by. We can get Cecil's injury healed, and buy a couple of horses from them. Then you and Jim can go barter passage on a ship or something."

"I need your help, Lucy. Jim needs your help. I'm getting too old to do this alone."

"I've got work to do here. I can't leave. I wish I could help, but there's nothing I can do." Lucy spent more time convincing herself than trying to convince Go.

"You must do what you feel is right, of course." Go drifted back into his own thoughts. Lucy didn't feel very good about this.

Originally posted on 5/18/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=109

For a sneak peak at Chapter 10, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=115


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Dynasty Generals filed into the council room and took their seats about a round table. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Eyes shifted from side to side. No one spoke. Each one waited for the inevitable meeting which would take place the moment the Dark Lady entered the chamber. Inevitable, because they knew one of them would pay the price of failure. One of them would not be leaving that room alive.

The door opened. There she stood, a menacing figure to behold. Her steps echoed through the chamber. Her cape billowed as she strode past the generals to sit upon the throne at the head of the table. Her eyes fell upon each face, one by one before she broke the silence.

"Report!" She commanded with a cold, unfeeling stare.

Each of the generals presented her with relevant information regarding troop movements, resource allocation, and the known political machinations of the lesser provinces both within and outside the Dynasty's jurisdiction.

"General Kilroy, Your assessment of the Mirror?"

"Based on all available research, there is but one piece remaining until it is complete. However, without it, we are vulnerable. Without that last piece, we are unable to use the Mirror for its intended purpose. The terrorist organization calling themselves the The Revolution have hidden the last shard somewhere in the west. It is possible, however unlikely, that they will find a way to exploit their advantage.

"My Lady has seen the faces of two men exchanging the Mirror Shard. My men are analyzing the images you saw. Very soon we shall identify the two we saw and retrieve the missing artifact."

"Well done, General Kilroy. Your loyal service will be rewarded." With this, the Dark Lady stood and began pacing around the table. "Loyalty is the only virtue I value; loyalty to the Dynasty, loyalty to the Empress, and loyalty to me..." Her steps echoed through the chamber, menacingly, much like the ticking of a clock counting down. "However, it has come to my attention that one among us has been disloyal. Gentlemen, you sit at the table with a betrayer."

The Generals all shot suspicious glances towards one another. Many prayed they were not falsely accused, or ignorant of some misdeed they should have been more aware of.

"General Hammond." The Dark Lady spoke as she stood behind him. "You stand accused of aiding agents of The Revolution in keeping the shard from me. I have received reports that your spies render more aid to their cause then they do intelligence on them for us. What have you to say for yourself?"

"Upon my word, there is no truth in this accusation. Who accuses me?" General Hammond returned, outraged.

"Well spoken, General. You are right. There is no truth in that accusation. Further investigations revealed a plot to discredit your spy network and dismantle your efforts in infiltrating The Revolution." Her eyes immediately turned to another in the room. "As for your question, your accuser is none other than General Yates."

"What?" General Yates cried out, feigning surprise. "You are mistaken, my Lady. I have been nothing but loyal to you and the Dynasty."

"I find your lies distasteful."

In that instant, General Yates found himself floating in the air, above the table, "No! Don't do this! It wasn't-" Before he could finish his sentence, the wall behind him shifted and opened to the outside and he was flung though that hole, where he would fall to his death. The wall sealed itself again.

A soft murmuring of relief was uttered amongst the survivors.

In that moment, an aid to General Kilroy entered and whispered into his ear. The General stood up and addressed the Dark Lady. "My Lady, we've found them."

Originally posted on 5/21/13 on empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=115

For a sneak peak at Chapter 11, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=118


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Cecil was only just waking up when they returned to the slaver's stronghold. He was certainly unhappy with the idea of returning, but couldn't argue with the logic behind it. He had seen with his own eyes the wounds they healed upon Jim's body. He would be happy for them to do the same to him.

When the party approached, their hopeful reserve quickly vanished, replaced by panicked terror. Lucy and Jim were immediately on guard. The unmistakable signs of a great battle were clearly present. Someone attacked the slavers. And by the looks of it, the Marauders were to blame.

They cautiously entered the compound. Go stayed with Cecil while Lucy and Jim scouted ahead. They felt fortunate that there they found no Marauders here, but alas, there were also no survivors.

As the duo returned, Go overheard Lucy saying, "I know the slavers and the Marauders were enemies, but I've never seen them hit something this big before."

"They didn't. But we are meant to think they did." Go looked about him. "The Marauders wouldn't leave bodies behind, they eat human flesh. And these wound patterns; too precise, they died instantly. Marauders bleed their prey before they die."

"Someone's framing the Marauders for this slaughter?" Lucy asked. "Why?"

"It's less about framing the Marauders as it is about hiding the identity of the attackers." Go's face turned pale. He faced Jim. "My boy, did they, at any time unwrap your Mirror Shard?"

Jim nodded.

"Yeah," Lucy remembered. "They unwrapped something and handed it to..."

Lucy jumped on her horse and galloped off, ignoring Go's protestations. "No Lucy! Don't go! It's too dangerous!"

Black smoke billowed mightily, churning back and forth through the sky. Its origins; Lucy's home.

"Uncle! UNCLE!" Lucy cried out, looking for any survivors. The bodies of old friends, slaves, and farmhands lay strewn about the devastated plantation.

Then she found him. His remains were difficult to identify, but the chain he wore about his neck was unmistakable. His mouth was frozen in a cry of horrible pain. His body was a charred black husk, still smoking. They tortured him before burning him alive.

Lucy was filled with an overwhelming sense of shame and guilt. Everyone she ever knew died, all while she was away from home.

Lucy spent too long alone with her thoughts as she trotted her horse back to the encampment where she left the others. In her absence, Go had found the healing salve the slavers use and used it to heal Cecil's wound.

Not one word was uttered at Lucy's return. The grim expression she wore told that there was nothing they could say to comfort her.

"They're dead." She said at last. "They're all dead..."

"There's nothing you could have done, Lucy. They would have murdered you, too. And the Shard would be in the hands of the Dynasty."

"I'll go." She said. "I'll go with you to Alder. I want to become a Paladin of Fi, like my mother."

_Originally posted on 5/23/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=118_

_For a sneak peak at Chapter 12, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=120_


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

General Kilroy entered the throne room and knelt before the Dark Lady before delivering his report. "Lady Evelyn, our Inquisitors have dealt with the two parties involved with the exchanging of the Shard."

"Have you recovered it?" She asked, cold as ice, drumming her fingers upon armrest of her throne.

"Not yet, my Lady. However we have a number of leads that we are following up on. I request you order General Mansfield's fleet to enforce a blockade of the port cities in the surrounding areas. My Inquisitors are increasing pressure in the region. Whoever possesses the shard will be forced to attempt an escape.

"Well done. I shall grant your request. Have your researchers yet determined the Shard's exploitative possibilities you mentioned?"

"A full report is pending, Lady Evelyn. My Inquisitors have attempted to acquire the plan from the Princess' mind, but have yet been unsuccessful."

"Of course you were unsuccessful. Her powers have grown in her absence from me." Lady Evelyn allowed a flash of an expression to cross her face. General Kilroy assumed it was mix of pride and satisfaction. "I will question her myself."

Cold and alone, the captive princess did her best to put all thoughts of the boy named Jim out of her mind. All her hope rested on that boy's shoulders, and if they detected him in her thoughts, his life was forfeit.

"Princess Lenore" The voice at the door to her cell called out to her, ripping her from her meditative trance. It was a Dynasty Soldier, dressed in his intimidating armor. "You have a guest."

The guard stepped aside to reveal the Dark Lady Evelyn in her magnificence as she entered the prison cell. Lenore stiffened up and braced herself for the worst.

"Now, Princess, we will discuss your plans with that Mirror Shard." The door closed, the walls shifted, and Lenore found herself in a room with no doors, no windows, and the only light was a faint glow emanating from the red crystal that hung on a chain around Lady Evelyn's neck.

The guard did his best to ignore the screaming that originated from the princess' transfigured prison cell.

Originally posted on 5/25/13 on empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=120

For a sneak peak at Chapter 13, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=125


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Master Go lead the party through Marauder territory towards the coast line. They were able to hide from the roving patrols of boar-mounted marauders, which grew more plentiful as squads of Dynasty Inquisitors invaded the territory. Skirmishes were gruesome, but brief.

The day dwindled and soon night was upon them. Lucy kept watch over Jim and Cecil while Master Go scouted ahead.

Cecil slept like a log, traveling as much as they did wore on him daily. Jim couldn't sleep, he was still absorbing the consequences of retaining the shard and seeing his quest take on a continuation.

Lucy noticed her comrade's restlessness and invited him to sit beside her. Jim accepted her invitation. Once he was comfortable beside her, Lucy asked. "Who is she?"

Jim wondered if she expected him to reply. But she kept on talking.

"You fought for her. You let her hide that thing inside of you. You've endured sickness, torture, slavery, and worse just to bring that thing to Master Go. And now that you have, you travel with him. I think you intend to endure much more before the end. She must have been very important to you."

She was, Jim wanted to say. She brought hope where there was none. She was a light of freedom that shined through the darkness of tyranny. She sacrificed more than most to fight the Dynasty. Then she entrusted me with her quest.

"She meant that much to you?" Lucy asked, as though able to hear him. "Who was she? What did she do?"

Jim shot an expression of surprise towards Lucy, which caught her off guard. "What? Didn't you just say... Wait... Ohhhh." Lucy's eyes went wide as she realized she was hearing the words of a mute.

"Mind reading, huh?" Master Go chuckled upon his return. "You're progressing faster than I thought, Lucy. Perhaps the connection you made to Jim's scar opened a pathway for you. But why all this interest in the girl?"

"When I touched the scar, the image I saw was of a girl that looked just like me. I thought it could have been my mother."

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Master Go settled down and assumed a more somber attitude. "Your mother died shortly after you were born."

"How did my mother die?"

"A promising Paladin of Fi named Lady Evelyn, who was once my student, discovered the path known as the Dark Way. She helped the Dynasty rise to power and hunted down the Paladins of Fi. She betrayed and murdered your mother."

"The Dark Way?"

"When a Paladin of Fi follows The Way, their power flows with the universe. We've used this power to create artifacts, like the stone you carry. The Dark Way twists the artifacts, binding the souls of their creator to it. It is an unnatural power that allows those with evil hearts to bend the artifacts to their will. Followers of the Dark Way slay Paladins of Fi, trap their souls to their own artifacts, and use them for their dark bidding."

"Then who's face was it I saw? Who are we going to help?"

"Before your mother died, I took it upon myself to hide you, to watch out for you. Your father was also Paladin of Fi. Relationships between Paladins is forbidden, because both are so attuned to the Way, procreation almost always results in identical septuplets. It's forbidden because the mothers rarely survive the pregnancy. Yours did, for a time. Who you saw was one of your sisters."

"Sisters? Septuplets? Seven? I have six identical sisters?"

"At one time, yes. But the Dynasty has been hunting your family down and slaying them, one by one, out of fear of what you may become. That's why I hid you away. But alas, I do not know how many of your sisters are left."

The following morning, the party found themselves atop a outcropping, overlooking the valley that stretched out to the sea. There upon the coast was nestled a quiet little port town with more slums and abandoned structures than a successful port would be expected to have. It did not look welcoming.

"The Port of Las Almas." Master Go introduced. "You will never find a deeper cesspool of cutthroats and buccaneers. Be on your guard."

_Originally posted on 5/28/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=125_

_For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=127_


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The walls of the prison shifted and revealed a previously concealed door. The door opened, and Lady Evelyn stepped out. The princess' body laid the floor, unconscious and barely breathing. The door closed violently, and the Dark Lady strode out of the prison block, the only sound the tapping of her shoes upon the stone floor.

A guard dispassionately examined the princess. There were no obvious injuries on her body, but the signs of severe crying was present upon her delicate face; dried tears streaked her face. She bore all the signs of unconsciousness but one. Her eyes were wide open, an expression of horror frozen upon her face. She looked as if she were scared to death.

"What did she do to you? What did you see?" The guard whispered to himself, more curious than concerned.

Sitting upon her throne, the Dark Lady was attended by General Kilroy and General Hammond.

"Forgive my prying, Lady Evelyn" General Hammond inquired, "How did the interrogation go?"

"Her powers have exceeded my expectations. I cannot retrieve the information from her mind without irreparably damaging her." The Dark Lady explained

"I take from your statement that you did, in fact, cause damage?" General Kilroy seemed amused by this.

"She will live, and make a full recovery. Of this there is no doubt. She is strong. The strongest of all her sisters. It's why she is not yet dead. Given time, she will make a fine heir to the Empress' Dynasty."

"But we must know what she was plotting, and soon." General Kilroy's previous amusement was replaced by panicked concern. Lady Evelyn began to think that his emotions were becoming too easy to read.

"I'm aware of our present concerns, General." She allowed enough venom in her voice to make sure he shirked back from his present course, but not to much to make herself seem annoyed. She was satisfied with the result.

General Hammond stepped forward to change the subject. "Might I suggest, my Lady, an alternative means of persuasion."

"I'm listening."

"Given Princess Lenore's history with the Isle of Alder, I recommend demonstrating the power of this Flying Fortress to her and the rest of the world."

The Dark Lady sat back in her throne and considered the implications of such an act. General Hammond waited intently for her response. He took the frightful mirth of her laughter to mean 'yes'.

"General Kilroy, set course for the Isle of Alder."

_Originally posted on 5/30/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=127_

_For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=128_


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Master Go, Lucy, Cecil, and Jim rode into the port town with purpose. Their procession was met with suspicious eyes and rapidly closing windows.

"I smell trouble." Lucy said.

"It'll be all right." Master Go reassured her. "Just stay close."

It wasn't long before they were stopped by a posse of officially attired Dynasty Inquisitors. Lucy was surprised to see them out in the open like this.

"State your names and purpose."

"Of course, officer. I am the master of Leeds Plantation. This is my daughter." Go pointed to Lucy", and these my servants," Go gestured to Cecil and Jim. "I am here to inspect my inventory."

"Let's see some identification."

"You don't need to see our identification."

"Yes, yes I do."

"Very well." Master Go produces a leather-bound fold of papers from his satchel for them to inspect. After a moment's pause, the Inquisitor hands the papers back.

"Move along." He says waving them through.

When they're out of sight of the Dynasty Inquisitor, Lucy grabs the papers and looks at them. They seemed official enough to her eyes, but suddenly the ink on the papers shift about and swirl until they spell "Hello, Lucy."

"There is no limit to the power of the Way." Go says, then winks.

They tied up their horses outside of a saloon and walked in. Human and nonhuman creatures littered the place; each one showing a cold, hard face. Lucy took one look around the place, turned to Jim and Cecil, and said, "Maybe you two should watch the horses..."

"A fine stratagem, Mistress." Jim didn't want to bow out, but considering the bauble he concealed, he didn't argue.

Go and Lucy passively walked up to the bar. All eyes were on them. Go ordered a shot of whiskey, as did Lucy, but only one of them managed to drink their shot without coughing. Lucy didn't notice Go leave her alone at the bar to talk to some of the other patrons.

"Can't hold your liquor, eh sweet cheeks?" A disfigured man slunk up next to Lucy, getting uncomfortably close. Lucy scooted away from the man to find herself backing into a half-ogre, who grunted at her.

"He likes you."

"Pardon?"

"I like you, too. What say you come up to our room?"

"Are you always this charming?" Lucy was getting angrier and angrier.

"Do you really think we care whether you're willing or not?"

"This one's not worth the trouble boys." Go pulled Lucy out from between her 'suitors'. "Come, let me buy you a drink."

The half-ogre raised both his arms in fury, intending to bring them down on the old man for interfering. Lucy couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Go move as fast as he did. Before she could blink, Go thrust his elbow into the half-ogre's throat then delivered a bone-crushing kick to the creature's knee. He didn't even look at the disfigured man who drew a large dagger just to have it re-sheathed into his belly with a perfectly aimed elbow.

The bodies fell to the floor. Every patron in the saloon silently witnessed the assault, then, without a word, returned to their own business, as though nothing had happened.

"I could have taken them." Lucy grumbled.

"I know, but we're pressed for time. Wendigo here is second mate on a ship which could help us." Lucy looked up to see a nine foot tall yeti purr a deep growl of approval at the two of them.

_Originally posted on 6/01/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=128_

_For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=129_


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"The name's Shaw. Captain of the White Hawk. Wendigo here tells me you're looking for a ship to take you to the Isle of Alder."

Shaw was a grim-jawed pirate with more that a few scars on him, each one with a story to tell. Wendigo sat beside him and leaned back, folding his furry arms. Lucy noted the yeti's posture was similar to the muscled thugs of gangsters in the books she read. She let Go do the talking.

"If it's a fast ship." The conversation between Go and Shaw was a bit like a staring contest. Lucy felt the tension in the air increase.

"Fast ship? You've never heard of the White Hawk?"

"Should I have?"

"It's the ship that slalomed the Sakan Archipelago in less than twelve leagues."

"Leagues are a distance, not a time." Lucy interrupted.

"Most ships slaloming the Sakan Archipelago capsize on the reef if they try to sail any less than twenty leagues." Shaw shot back. Lucy shut up. "It's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo."

"Just myself, the girl, two slaves," Go leaned in "... and no questions asked."

"Local trouble?"

"Let's just say we'd like to avoid any Dynastic encounters."

The yeti grumbled.

"That's the real trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you extra. Twenty thousand, all in advance."

"Twenty thousand?" Lucy shot back, incredulously. "We could buy our own dragon for that."

"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, kid? You?"

"You don't know me. I-" Go silenced Lucy with a gesture.

"We can pay you three thousand now, and another thirty when we get to the Isle of Alder."

"Thirty three? You just got yourself a ship. East bay, pier ninety four. I suggest you disappear. Looks like someone is looking into your handiwork."

Dynasty Soldiers had entered the bar and were interrogating the bartender about the bodies of the patrons who had intended to rape Lucy. Go appreciated the warning and vanished with Lucy into the crowd so effectively that Wendigo uttered an impressed grunt. Shaw waited until the soldiers left before turning to his first mate.

"Thirty three thousand, Wendy. Can you believe it? We just hit the jackpot. This could really save my neck. Go get the Hawk ready for travel. I'll meet you there."

The yeti nodded and walked off. Shaw was about to pay his bill when he felt the point of a knife jabbing his back. He paid the bill anyway and put his hands up in non-threatening way.

"Whoever you are, I've got the money." The man with a knife put a hand on Shaw's shoulder and led him back to the table he was sitting at before.

"Sit." Shaw obeyed and kicked himself for not realizing who the coward was sooner; Og, the gremlin.

"Oh, Og, how I've missed you." Shaw began covertly digging through his pocket for a little glass ball. Og changed how he held the knife so he could throw it at a moment's notice. With how close Shaw sat from Og, there was little chance of him missing.

"Give me the money." Og grumbled.

"I don't have it with me. You think I'd carry that kind of coin on me in a place like this?"

"My employer is tired of your games, Shaw. Your debt has become an embarrassment to the clan. Pay me or pay the consequences."

"Last I checked, you were owned, not employed. And what's this 'pay you' business? I know you Og. You want the money for yourself."

"You don't even have it, do you? When I bring your corpse to Don Diego, he will reward me and feed your remains to one of his pets."

"I always thought you were one of those pets."

Og growled, "I've been looking forward to this."

"Yes, I bet you have." Shaw flicked the glass orb he pulled from his pocket into Og's lap where it cracked. The gremlin was barely aware of the danger before his entire body was engulfed in white-hot dragon-fire. Just as soon as it appeared, the fire vanished, leaving Og's charred black remains sitting there. His body hit the table with a satisfying thump.

Shaw stood in a dignified manner, tossed a coin to the bartender, and said, "Sorry for the mess," before walking out of the saloon.

_Originally posted on 6/04/13 at /leewhittaker/?p=129_

_For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to /leewhittaker/?p=130_


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"These are thoroughbred arabians! They're worth twice what you're offering!" Lucy's incredulity at the trader's audacity was vividly apparent. She wanted Master Go to show his magic papers to the man to make him pay what they were worth.

"I'm aware of their worth, darling." The trader spoke. "And so is everyone else. I can't buy them for what I can sell them. Either take the offer or go looking somewhere else."

Being pressed for time cost them, but the offer was enough to pay for their voyage. Lucy begrudgingly took the money and they left.

Lucy, Jim, Cecil, and Master Go went through the harbor district on foot. It was here that Lucy's uncanny resemblance to Princess Lenore began to cause them trouble.

A shadowy figure began to follow them.

It wasn't long before his eavesdropping caught their destination, pier 94. He immediately broke his surveillance and reported his discoveries to his contact, the High Inquisitor of Las Almas.

Within moments, a squad of Inquisitors was dispatched to intercept.

The party walked down the pier looking for the one marked ninety four.

Cecil broke the silence with, "I suppose it's probably a bad time to mention that I get sea sick."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Lucy asked, somewhat perturbed by this sudden confession.

"Would it have mattered?"

"No, not really." Go chimed in, shrugging off the entire conversation.

They turned at the sign they were looking for and headed towards what looked like a ship that should have sunk ages ago.

"What is this? A joke?" Lucy asked.

Go gave Shaw the money while Shaw defended his ship's appearance. "She looks like this on purpose. Being underestimated can be a valuable asset." Lucy had to agree with that statement. "But we're ready to set sail, so if you'd kindly get on board, we can depart."

Lucy was ascending the gangplank when suddenly something shot past her face. It landed with a thunk. Upon closer inspection, Lucy recognized it as a Dynasty Star, the weapon that nearly took Jim's life. She watched in horror as it ripped itself out of the wood of the ship and dodged it's return trajectory to the Inquisitor who originally released it.

"Stop that ship! Arrest them!" Was the command given, but their intent was clear when they all unleashed their flying weapons upon them.

Cecil immediately took cover in the ship. Master Go was already on board, when the ruckus started. Jim jumped in front of Lucy and took a star to his shoulder. Lucy grabbed Jim and hauled him off to safety.

Shaw ran on board and shouted, "Wendy! Get us out of here!" He rapidly tossed off the ropes that tied the White Hawk to the pier. As he got the last one off, a flying star cut the straps of his satchel that held the balls of dragon-fire. Realty seemed to slow in Shaw's mind as he saw the bag fall toward the deck. Fully loaded, if it hit his ship, the entire boat would be suddenly engulfed in a fire that would consume everyone on board. He watched his body act on reflex and caught the bag with the top of his foot. Then he spun around and kicked the entire bag overboard towards the Inquisitors.

The bag sailed through the air. One of the soldiers snatched it out of the air with lightning reflexes. His accomplishment was short lived when the bag erupted with dragon fire and set the pier ablaze.

The sails of the White Hawk caught the shockwave of the dragon fire eruption and propelled it away from the pier. The whole boat shook violently, but they were safely on their way.

Shaw found Wendigo and confided in him. "These guys must be hotter than I thought. You up for this?"

The yeti growled mischievously.

"Fun, huh? We'll see about that, Wendy." Shaw looked out beyond. "What's that out there?" Shaw pulled out a telescope and could clearly identify three Dynasty war ships closing in quick. "A blockade. Who the hell are these guys? Get below, hurry, work your magic buddy."

Wendigo grunted an obedient affirmation and disappeared into the bowels of the ship.

"Where's he going?" Lucy asked Shaw.

"Below." Was all he'd say.

"Well, obviously..."

"Then why'd you ask?" Shaw looked at Lucy like she was the dumb one. This did not sit well with her. "Hang on to something. Were going up."

"Up?"

It was at that moment that Lucy realized just why this ship was known as a the White Hawk. The yeti called Wendigo had a secret. The holes near the bottom of the ship that Lucy assumed would mean would sink now housed 6 enormous fluffy white wings that, with a single flap, rendered the entire ship airborne.

Lucy watched in amazement when their vessel took to the sky and glided through the air over the ships that threatened to block their way. A cannon ball whizzed by the starboard side of the White Hawk, but that was the closest shot the Dynasty could muster.

"Damn" Shaw said. "I usually wait until I'm out to see to use this trick. Now the Dynasty knows I can fly. This'll make things harder for me. Your old friend better make good on his financial obligations, girl." Shaw grumbled as he strode past Lucy in a huff.

Lucy wondered who Go knew on the Isle of Alder who would pay thirty thousand for their safe arrival.

_Originally posted on 6/06/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=130_

_For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=131_


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

What appeared to be storm clouds gathered over the Isle of Alder. Residents took shelter from the oncoming storm, unaware of the fate that would soon befall them.

Masked behind the storm clouds, the Dark Fortress hung in the air, invisible to the people below. A balcony protruded at top of the tallest tower. Upon that balcony, clad in black armor, the Lady Evelyn stood. The wind swept through her hair. Her helmet rested upon the railing. She took a deep breath of the salty sea air high in the sky. She let a small smile crack her constantly stern visage.

That smile quickly vanished when she heard the footsteps of her daughter, Princess Lenore, escorted by the prison guards.

"You've recovered, I see." Evelyn's words spoke of concern, but her tone of voice did not match. "Have you given any thought to our earlier conversation?"

"You're a monster."

"That's a matter of perspective, my dear." Then with a grand gesture with her hand, the Lady Evelyn presented the scene below them. "Behold, the Isle of Alder."

The princess' calm was damaged. "What? Why are we here? What have you done?"

"Nothing yet. The fate of the people living on this island is in your hands, my dear. You get to choose if they live or die."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought it was obvious. Tell me where the shard is and the inhabitants of this island will see another sunrise. Or keep your secret and murder them, every man, woman, and child. Is your game worth having their blood on your hands?"

"Why would you do this?"

"Me? This is all your doing. You betrayed the Empress. You defied the Dynasty. Your choices lead us down this road. You brought this fortress here. You've made me a slave to your whims, Princess. Don't blame others for your mistakes. You now have the power over the lives of everyone on the isle below."

"Lies. All lies."

"I grow tire of your disobedience. I will ask you for the last time. Will you reveal the location of the stolen Shard, or murder these people? Choose!"

The princess struggled hard with the words that echoed in her mind. The Lady Evelyn had mastered the art of the ear-worm, or rather the method of speech that repeats itself in your mind over and over and over again. She couldn't think. Her mind was breaking.

"I sent it to the north, it's en route to the Palace of the White Walls. They're going to bury it in a glacier forever."

"I see."

The Lady Evelyn closed her eyes and rested her hands upon the railing next to her helmet. What happened next, only Lenore could see clearly.

The black stone comprising the underside of the Flying Fortress changed shape. It transformed from it's normal inverted mountain shape into that of an enormous, black human skull.

Lenore witnessed in horror as the skull descended upon the Isle of Alder, opened it's jaws, and began to consume the entire island, bite by bite. The screams of the innocents being crushed by the shifting stone island brought Lenore to tears.

"Stop it... stop it..." She sobbed, but her cries fell upon deaf ears. The devastation continued until the entire island was annihilated, nothing of it remained that stood above sea level. The Dynasty literally wiped it off the map.

"Why?"

"You sent the shard west, not north. You lied to me. You murdered those people."

"You monster..."

"That's a matter of perspective." Evelyn collected her helmet and left Lenore to ponder her failures. A guard would return her to her prison cell.

_Originally posted on 6/08/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=131  
For a sneak peak at Chapter 19, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=132_


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Lucy finished patching up Jim's shoulder. "You've got to stop getting wounded like this. There's not much left of you that isn't scar tissue."

Jim pursed his lips in a crooked smirk. Lucy smirked back. Jim lied back down upon his cot and rested. Unlike the ocean voyages he took in his youth, this flying above the clouds was smooth and even. He fell asleep quickly.

Lucy ventured above deck where Shaw guided the helm. She assumed he didn't regard her for much, and honestly, she didn't really care. When Shaw told her about his boat being ideally underestimated, she experienced similar benefits first hand.

She looked up at the stars and recognized the constellations. Heroes of myth and legend symbolized by the patterns of the stars in the heavens. Each one with their own story. As a little girl she dreamed of having adventures like the heroes in her stories, but what adventures could a plantation owner's niece possibly have?

Now she sat on a ship sailing through the sky, defying the Dynasty and searching for her long lost sisters.

She took another look at the sky and realized they we not exactly headed in a westerly direction. She didn't like the idea of being duped. She decided to confront this Captain Shaw for his deceit.

"As I recall, the Isle of Alder is 10° west by southwest from the Port of Las Almas." She said conversationally, entrapment was on her mind.

"Indeed it is."

"Yet you've got us on a heading 15° west by northwest."

"Yep. Also correct."

"So, where are you taking us?"

"To the Isle of Alder." He was not going for the entrapment angle easily.

"But we're 25° port to the heading we should be going."

"Oh, dearie me! Really? Then I better make a course correction. I'm so lucky to have you on board, missy." Sarcasm oozed from his speech like a leaky chamberpot.

Lucy noticed that Shaw neglected to alter his course. She was about to storm off in a huff when Shaw finally spoke to her with some semblance of respect.

"Listen kid. You clearly know your way around a star chart and rudimentary navigation. What you're failing to comprehend is that we're not sailing by the trade winds or the ocean currents. The air is thinner up here, it moves differently. We're going to the Isle of Alder, I'm just getting you there faster than you anticipated. Go back under, get some rest. Wendy and I will get you there by sunrise."

"It's a three day trip to get there."

"Sure, if you're traveling under the clouds. Trust me. Get some sleep."

Lucy nodded and returned to the cabins below deck.

"Cute kid," Shaw said to himself.

The ship beneath him groaned.

"Don't get started. She's not my type."

Another groan.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep your filthy imagination to yourself, Wendy."

The ship's groaning sounded suspiciously like chuckling.

Lucy sat down upon her hammock. She looked around before procuring the shifting stone Go said once belonged to her mother. Everyone was asleep so she could practice privately.

She held the stone in the palm of her hand. It was round and smooth like the stones at the bottom of a riverbed whose rough edges were worn away by the rushing waters. She stared intently at it, willing it to become a flower.

Nothing.

It didn't even quiver.

The harder she tried, the worse it seemed to be. She was ready to give up. She closed her eyes and gave a sigh of exhaustion. It was that release of tension that produced the result she desired. When she opened her eyes again, the shape of the stone had shifted so deftly she couldn't remember feeling it change in her hand.

She smiled. Progress. She visualized the form of a tiny dancer, closed her eyes and sighed again. Upon opening them, there was the dancer she saw in her mind.

"But can you make her dance?"

"Huh?" The stone resumed it's original round shape.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Master Go apologized. "You've made a brief connection to the Way. You changed the shape of your stone in an instant. The next step is to align your mind to the Way and visualize motion." Go pulled out his stack of papers and held out his hand. Lucy watched with fascination as the 'ink' leapt off each page and formed another stone in the palm of his aging hand.

"How did you do that?" Lucy began to feel incredibly inadequate.

"Do not compare your level with my level. You and I and everyone else in the world are the same; we are all learning." Go reassured her. "Nothing in this world ever came to pass without someone imagining it first. The Way balances your imagination with the collective dreams of all living things. You must learn to balance your own willpower and desires with the flow of the universe.

"Hold the stone in your hand." Go commanded. Lucy obeyed. "In your mind, picture that dancer again. But this time, forget what you've learned. That is not a stone you hold, but a manifestation of your will."

Lucy closed her eyes again and pictured a ballerina pirouetting upon on foot and using kicks to propel her momentum. When she opened her eyes, she could hardly believe what she saw.

Not only had the stone moved and shifted to resemble what she saw in her imaginations, but the dull grayish-brown color the stone normally assumes had changed to the colors of pink, blonde, and flesh tones she visualized with the dancer.

But the moment she looked at it, it collapsed into the shape and color of the original stone. "I don't believe it!"

"That's your problem, dear." Go rebuked. "Let go of your disbelief. Fear, doubt, you must put these thoughts out of your mind. It is the only way your connection to the Way can be complete. Whether you choose to believe you can, or believe you can't, the Way will accept your belief. You must learn bring your highest self to the Way."

Lucy once again redirected her attention to her mother's stone. She didn't close her eyes this time. She wanted to see that dancer again. The stone shifted shape and color to resemble the dancer, but it held still in a stretch over one foot. She wanted to watch the dancer dance. She let go of her imagination and could feel someone else's dream take hold.

Somewhere in the Way someone dreamed of dancing, and that dream manifested in her hand with the stone ballerina leaping and twirling about in Lucy's hand. Just as the figurine was about to make it's grand finally, it stopped and released a blood curdling scream before collapsing into its original form as a stone.

"What happened?" Lucy asked. "What did I do?"

"It wasn't your fault." Go reassured her. "I'm afraid something terrible has happened."

Lucy and Go were greatly disturbed that her stone cried out in terror, then was suddenly silenced.

_Originally posted on 6/11/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=132_

_For a sneak peak at Chapter 20, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=134_


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Wendy's wings lowered the White Hawk below the cloud level and gently rested it against the ocean below. Once waterborne, Wendy resumed his form as a yeti and came above deck to see Shaw.

The dawn was about to break. Shaw promised Lucy they'd make it to the Isle of Alder by sunrise. And according to everything he knew about navigating the seas and the skies, their destination should be straight ahead.

Shaw stood, mouth slightly agape, as where the island was supposed to be was nothing but sea. He conferred with his charts, used every trick he knew to verify his location. After minutes of doubt and double checking, there was only one conclusion that could be reached.

The island was gone.

Go was the first to wake and emerge from below deck. He rubbed the sand from his eyes and ascended to the top deck where Shaw stood.

"How much longer until we arrive?"

"That... Is a very good question." Shaw shot a sideways glance at Go, his suspicion of the old man increasing by the moment. "What are you involved in, old man?"

"Part of the agreement was 'no questions asked', Captain. Do you intend to break our agreement?"

"I've done my part. But I fear your promise of payment will go unfulfilled." Shaw pulled up his charts. "We left the Port of Las Almas and took to the sky. From there we traveled for fifty seven and one half leagues on a heading of fifteen degrees west by north west following the current above the clouds. We turned forty five degrees starboard to catch the prevailing winds and continued onward for another sixty three leagues. We touched water again here." Shaw pointed to the map to show trip they made and where they ended. "This is where we are. The Isle of Alder should be half a league just over there." Shaw pointed to a place behind Go. Go turned and saw nothing.

"We're lost?" Go accused the captain.

"I wish we were. That would make my life a little easier. But no. We're right on course. It's your destination that's lost. The entire island is gone."

It was at that moment that Lucy emerged from below and caught the tail end of their conversation. "Gone?" She asked. "What do you mean 'it's gone'?"

Go closed his eyes and emptied his thoughts, opening himself up to the Way. In his mind's eye, the Way showed him the terrible destruction the Flying Fortress rendered upon the people of the Isle of Alder.

"It was destroyed, completely, by the Dynasty."

"How? They don't have the firepower, even with all their dragons. Level the island, yes, but destroy it completely?"

Wendigo uttered a soft, mournful roar. Lucy looked over the side of the ship to see hundreds of bodies floating in the water. She could not bear to look and turned away.

A horrible thought crossed her mind. She remembered her stone becoming a dancer that screamed. "One of them dreamed of dancing. Didn't they?"

"Yes, Lucy. Yes. That dream came from one of these poor souls."

Without warning, Jim grabbed Lucy from behind and pulled her bodily to the deck. She cried in pain and was about to protest when mounted dragon flew by the ship, scooped up some of the bodies in the sea, and began eating them.

"Dragon rider." Shaw hissed. "Get below, now." They all obeyed without question."

Shaw examined the rider from through a cannon window. "Dynasty Flier. Baby dragon. Not more than sixty. It couldn't have gotten here on its own."

"Alder didn't have dragon aeries. Where did it come from?" Go wondered.

Cecil woke up and spoke normally, which seemed like a shout in the current situation. "What's all the hubbub about?" Lucy put a hand over his mouth. He nodded when he saw the seriousness of the glares directed at him.

"Regardless, he won't be around long enough to tell anyone about us." Shaw loaded his cannon as quietly as possible while the dragon continued to feast upon the dead. A shrill cry echoed through the sky, forcing the company to cover their ears. The dragon looked up and took to the sky before Shaw could light the fuse. "Damn," he cursed.

"Look, he's heading for that storm cloud." Lucy pointed up to the sky.

"That's no cloud..." Go said slowly.

_Originally posted on 6/13/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=134_

_For a sneak peak at Chapter 21, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=135_


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"What do you mean that's not a storm cloud?" Lucy hissed, trying to whisper.

"You should turn this ship around." Go whispered to Shaw.

Shaw nodded, and was on his way up the ladder-steep stairs when a massive harpoon penetrated the floor above his head. He fell down, lucky to still be alive. Another harpoon caught the bow of the ship. The harpoons expanded and latched themselves onto the ship. Shaw cursed like the sailor he was.

Everyone was paralyzed with fear as they all felt the ship lurch upward. "We're going up?" Cecil whispered.

"They're reeling us in!" Lucy exclaimed.

"They're not getting this ship without a fight!" Shaw

"They just leveled an island, Captain." Go soothed Shaw's bruised ego. "However, there are alternatives to fighting."

Shaw ran past everybody and said "Follow me," as he went. Jim was the quickest behind him and when he saw what Shaw was doing, he jumped in to give him a hand. The pair of them shoved heavy boxes to the side and opened up a secret door in the floor.

"What is this?" Lucy tried to keep her balance in a ship that rocked violently as it was reeled upwards.

"I use it for smuggling. Get in, everybody, NOW!"

"You want me to what?" Cecil was very distraught by the notion that he'd be stuck in a cage again. "Mistress Lucy, I highly disagree-"

"Shut up and hide," Lucy pushed Cecil towards Jim, who nodded and helped Cecil into the secret compartment. After a bit of human Tetris, the six of them were able to fit inside the compartment. Shaw pulled on a rope that closed the lid and moved the box back on top of the door.

"It's lucky you had this place." Lucy whispered.

"Never thought I'd be smuggling myself." Shaw murmured.

Wendigo grumbled.

"I know. But remember what else is in here." Shaw retorted.

"What's his problem?" Lucy asked.

"I usually have more room in here," Shaw explained. "But I've got a giant crate of highly dangerous, and very illegal weapons sharing this cramped space with us. We're gonna need them."

"Follow my lead." Go whispered.

"I have to pee." Cecil added.

An air of hostility for Cecil began to thicken.

On board the Flying Fortress, the White Hawk was lowered onto a cradle for ships its size. A lieutenant overseeing the bay clicked his heels and bowed respectfully to the Lady Evelyn before submitting his oral report.

"This ship was seen sailing towards the Isle of Alder. Our Dragon Riders spotted it while feeding and we used our harpoons to reel it in. It appears to be deserted, however we have not used the dogs to search it yet. It's markings match a ship that escaped the blockade of the Port of Las Almas yesterday."

"Las Almas to Alder in one day? What kind of ship travels this fast?" the Lady Evelyn looked over the ship appraisingly. "Conduct your search. but keep it intact. If it's as fast as you claim, we must discover its secrets." She turned to walk away, was suddenly stopped. "I sense something. A presence I've not felt since..." She stormed off towards her private chambers to focus.

Originally posted on 6/18/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=135

For a sneak peek at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=137


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The sound of sniffing dogs echoed through the depths of the ship. Bloodhounds. There was no chance of their location remaining a secret for much longer.

"Wendy," Shaw whispered. "Sleep them."

The yeti yawned with a mouth big enough to engulf a human head. Cecil noted the size of it, which made it harder for him not to urinate right then and there, but he exercised his willpower a little longer. The yeti's yawn produced powerful sound wave too low for human ears to hear. Every inhuman warm blooded animal within earshot would be instantly unable to remain awake.

The bloodhounds felt the effects instantly, and all of them laid down and fell asleep. Nothing their masters did could wake them. Shaw opened the crate of illegal weapons and pulled out a semi-automatic cross bow. He loaded it and nodded at Wendigo, saying "Now."

Wendigo pulled mightily on a rope he was concealing from the others. Pulling the rope moved the heavy box that hid the trap door to the compartment they were hiding in. Shaw popped open the door and took aim at the bloodhounds' masters. Three heads, three shots, they were dead before they could cry out.

Shaw held a finger to his lips, then invited Jim to come with him. They could both hear foot steps on the bow of the ship. More soldiers. They had to hide the bodies. Shaw set Jim to watch the soldiers up top to make sure they didn't come down. They appeared to simply be standing guard.

Shaw peaked through one of the holes in the side ship where Wendigo's wings would carry the ship. He could see a command tower on deck. If there were a way to escape, he'd have to take control of that tower first. But how to get there?

"What's your plan, captain?"

Shaw was startled the moment he realized that Go was peaking through the same hole as him. He shook it off. "I don't recognize this type of port. If I'm going to save my ship, I need to take control of that tower."

"So we need to escape this ship, cross four hundred yards of open deck undetected, and take out the tower control without raising any alarms. Did I get the gist of the plan."

"Pretty much, yeah. Any ideas, old man?"

"Hold on" Half their view was obstructed by the cradle that held their ship. Go reached out to touch the cradle. "Oh no. No, no, no. They didn't. They wouldn't." He closed his eyes and concentrated, a tunnel opened up in the floor. He fought back the tears that were inevitably coming. "Yeah I've got an idea."

Within moments, the bodies and the dogs were stuffed into the secret hold. It would be hours before the dogs would wake up, so its unlikely anyone would find them. Go opened up a tunnel in the stone of the Flying Fortress and the party walked undetected underneath the deck uninterrupted.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked Go.

"Do you remember what I told you happens to the stones of the Paladins of Fi that are slain by followers of the Dark Way?"

"Their souls are trapped in the stone and turn black."

"That is correct. They can no longer turn any other color than black. That's how you can tell they've been corrupted. But they can also be combined. The more Paladins they kill, the more stones they collect, the more power they have."

"What are you saying?"

"This entire fortress is comprised of the stones of slain Paladins. The souls of everyone I have ever known is trapped in here."

Originally posted on 6/20/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=137

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=138


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"What is he talking about?" Shaw whispered to Lucy. "Is he going crazy on us?"

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine." Lucy reassured Shaw, but didn't quite believe it herself.

Go choked back his emotions and tried to remain calm, or at least as calm as anyone could be in a graveyard where the entirety of your past is buried.

The party crossed beneath the deck unseen and in silence. Once they came to the base of the tower, Go was in a killing mood. Lucy had never seen Go so enraged. She held back Go and let Shaw and Wendigo move ahead. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to fight in this condition, Master."

It took time for Go to reluctantly agree. "You don't understand. You don't see what's happening here."

"Then explain it to me." Lucy motioned for Jim, Shaw, and Wendigo to exit the tunnel and attack the tower.

"The stones are not rocks from the ground. As your body ages, you will shed skin, hair, and every cell that makes up you. When you follow the way, those cells tune to the frequency of the universe. When those cells leave your body, most of them return to the earth as water. But a small part of them, a very small part of a very small cell, finds its way to that stone. The stone you carry contains the parts of the cells that were in your mother's body while she followed the Way. As you get older, your stone will grow with you."

Lucy took a moment to grasp the notion that she carried a part of her mother with her. Then it dawned on her. If this fortress was made with the stones of fallen Paladins, then it means it's not stone she's standing on, but literally human remains.

"Now you understand." Go sat in silence. Cecil kept his mouth shut,.

Jim peaked his head up through the trap door in the tower. He counted five guards and one officer. He used hand signals to relay this information to Shaw and Wendigo, who nodded with comprehension.

"Wendy, you take the two on the left. Jim, you take the two on the right." Shaw hissed. Wendigo readied the chain whip wrapped around his arms. Jim readied a pair of tomahawks. Shaw reloaded his crossbow magazine, and said, "Now."

Jim crashed through the trap door first, catching everyone off guard, he darted right and threw his tomahawks. One guard was hit in the head instantly, another was struck in the chest. His death would take longer as he desperately gasped for air with a punctured lung.

Four flying stars were hurled at Jim in a heartbeat. Jim ducked, narrowly avoiding harm, but ended up crashing into a desk filled with papers. He was struggled to unbury himself while the rest of the action transpired.

Shaw leaped out while Jim was providing a distraction and buried two crossbow bolts into the necks of two more soldiers. He hurried over to help Jim up while Wendigo leapt up out of the trap door and used his chain whip to grip both the remaining guards by the neck and hurl them bodily towards the wall, where they impacted with a bone crunching finality.

When Shaw unburied Jim, all he saw was a boy clutching a single piece of paper and garbling hysterically. "I've found her! She's here!"

This chapter was originally posted on 6/22/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=138

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=139


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Shaw helped Jim to his feet. When he couldn't get Jim to calm down and explain his excitement, Shaw did the only thing he knew how to do. "Cecil, get up here." He shouted through the trap door.

The slender man reluctantly obeyed.

"What's he on about?" Shaw demanded.

Cecil saw Jim garbling over the document he found. "I'll ask him."

Shaw helped Lucy and Go up and out of the trap door. Go sealed the tunnel. "We're safe in here, for now."

"Wendy take a look at those harpoons, see what it'll take to sabotage them." Shaw instructed. He himself was busy finding a way to disengage the White Hawk from the Flying Fortress' landing deck.

Go had another strategy in mind. The power that kept these individual stones together was strong; very strong. But every power had a source, and the power that held this fortress together had to be close by. He could feel its presence. It was close by.

"Lucy," she turned to face Go. "Take this. It's half of my stone. So long as you have it, I will always be able to find my way back."

"Back? Where are you going?" Lucy's concern skyrocketed.

"This fortress has a weakness. I must find it, or more countries will suffer the same fate as the Isle of Alder. Wait for me."

"Hold up, old man." Shaw called out, halting Go's departure. "We've got a number of missions we're gonna have to accomplish if we're going to escape. Don't go anywhere until we've got everything worked out." Lucy was immensely grateful for Shaw's experience.

"What is your plan, Captain?" Go relented.

"Two minutes." Shaw held up one finger in contrast to his words. "Wendy?"

The yeti growled a complicated sequence, but before he could finish, Cecil interrupted. "Slow down, Jim! What do you mean 'She's here?' Who's she? Princess? What Princess? THAT PRINCESS?"

"Princess Lenore is here?" Lucy literally barged in between Cecil and Jim. Jim thrust the paper he was holding into Lucy's hands. She read over it carefully. "Cell block 8? Is there a map?"

"Here." Shaw volunteered, casting a large map of the fortress layout across the floor. They all examined the map for a moment before Shaw laid out their plan. "Jim, Lucy, you go to the detention block and rescue your Princess. Go, you take Cecil and go find the weakness to this fortress. Wendy and I will ensure our escape."

"What? Why me?" Cecil whined.

"Because you have photographic memory. You can already replicate this map, can't you?"

"How did you know?"

"The way you look at things. You think no one notices you. Think again. You're going with Go to discover this station's weakness and where it is located."

"You're sending the old man and me out on our own? We'll be killed!"

"Have you seriously not seen him fight?" Shaw was incredulous. "You haven't, have you? Relax, you'll be fine. Go."

"Yes?" Master Go replied.

"Sorry, I meant you should... leave now. We'll meet back here." Shaw almost said 'go' again. The duo departed.

"How do you recommend we get the Princess out of prison?" Lucy inquired.

"Go could make the stones of this place shift. Can you?"

Lucy gave it a try. A portion of the floor beneath them twisted upward and formed a stalagmite. Jim nodded approvingly.

"I think you'll be fine. Go on, save your princess."

Originally posted on 6/25/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=139

For a sneak peak at Chapter 25, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=140


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Cecil followed behind Go silently as they traversed the dark, narrow corridors of the Flying Fortress. When he knew no one was around, the thin man ventured an inquiry. "What, exactly, are we looking for?"

"Black Paladins had to forgo the Way to acquire their powers. I am able to manipulate this stone structure because I have not abandoned the Way. Black Paladins have to use a work-around. They have these red crystals which they use instead. The sad truth is that they have to fracture their souls in order to control it. Through that power they are able to command many stones at once."

"Okay... And?"

"The only way a structure this big could possibly still exist is if somewhere in the depths of this fortress is a soul stone holding it together."

"And that's what we're looking for?"

"Yes. I can feel it. The closer I get to it, the stronger the feeling becomes."

They continued their search, heading ever downward to the centermost core of the Flying Fortress. Go easily kept them hidden from patrolling guards by bending rock walls into hiding places. It seemed to Cecil like an eternity as they progressed deeper and deeper into enemy territory.

"Something's not right." Go halted his progression.

"What? What's not right?" Cecil hid, and looked about nervously.

"We haven't run into any Black Paladins yet." Go pulled out his papers and focused for a moment.

"So? Isn't that a good thing?"

"You're going to need to run, soon."

"I'm not leaving your side. I wouldn't last 3 minutes out there."

"Take this." Go handed Cecil his leather fold of documents. Cecil opened it and looked over it.

"You made me a Dynasty High Interpreter? Top clearance? Passport? Official seal? How did you do this?" Cecil tucked the folder away.

"I have a good imagination." Go snickered. "Just be sure your story matches the papers."

"Right."

They came to a dead end. Cecil took that moment to read over the papers thoroughly. Go walked the course of the room, sensing through the walls. It took him a moment before he found what he was looking for.

Go focused his energy. Suddenly a doorway opened revealing their destination. Before them, a glowing ruby large enough to fit a whole person inside of it floated in the air. Overwhelmed by the wave of evil mojo that rushed over him, Go collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Cecil rushed to his side.

"Run" Go gasped.

"What?" Cecil didn't understand. He looked up to see a figure standing above them; a figure he didn't expect to ever see again in all his life. "Mistress Evelyn?"

"I never imagined I'd see the two of you together, here." She smiled sweetly but her voice carried none of the sweetness her face tried to show.

"RUN!" Go pushed Cecil away, who came to his senses and obeyed, escaping the confrontation.

Evelyn was merely amused by the thin man's departure. "Yes, run. You'll only die tired." She helped Go to his feet. "Now, my dear husband, what are you doing here?"

Originally posted on 6/27/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=140

For a sneak peak at Chapter 26, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=141


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Lucy and Jim cautiously made their way to towards the prison block where Lenore was being held. Their progress was painfully slow as they attempted to go unseen.

Patrols of uniformed guards made their rounds with precision. The duo were faced with traversing an exceptionally long corridor without hiding places that was frequented by a plethora of patrols, all going different directions through this seemingly unimportant thoroughfare.

After a procession of approximately half a dozen armed guards marched through the corridor and out again, Jim saw their opportunity. He ran as fast as he could, Lucy did her best to keep up with him. But as fate would have it, Lucy did not keep up. She tripped. She fell. She cried out a short yelp of pain.

Jim froze, dead in his tracks. He could hear the sound of marching feet approaching. He looked around desperately for an exit. They were past the point of no return; too far to run ahead, too far to go back. He rushed to Lucy's side and pulled out his tomahawks. If he had to die fighting here, he would defending Lucy's life.

Lucy grabbed the heroic fool by his collar and dragged him through the door he didn't see. She closed the door and watched through the porthole as the squadron of soldiers marched by, indifferent to the eyes peering at them through the door.

"Who you hiding from?" They heard a voice behind them.

The pair turned to face the man who spoke. Jim looked around to assess his situation. Seems Lucy pulled them into a lounge area of some sort. He counted 5 soldiers.

"New recruits? Looking for a little together time?" The crowd laughed at Lucy and Jim.

"Yeah," Lucy feigned embarrassment, "Is there someplace we could go for some privacy?" Jim shot a surprised glance at Lucy, then realized he ought to be playing along. He quietly hid his tomahawks.

"Locker room's back there." The soldier thumbed over his shoulder to the door behind him.

"Great!" Lucy grabbed Jim's collar and dragged him across the room and through the door, amidst the chuckles of their audience. She shut the door quickly.

"Men..." Lucy couldn't believe what she just did. Jim couldn't either, but he let it slide. He immediately began removing clothes, "What are you doing?" Lucy hissed, hoping she wasn't heard by the people outside. Jim just looked at her, broke open a locker, and tossed a uniform her way. "Oh, right. Good idea." Jim winked at her and proceeded to change his clothes.

Jim had no sense of shame when it came to exposing himself to her. She had already seen him virtually naked when she had to account for his scars, so he simply made quick work of changing. Lucy was much shier when it came to this sort of thing. She grabbed the uniform and ran off to a secluded corner to change. Jim didn't read her right, and wondered what was wrong. He was rewarded with a shoe to the face for his curiosity.

With wounded pride, he stood guard until she was dressed. Once she emerged, he whistled an apology that Cecil taught them both. She accepted his apology and changed the subject. "I was hopping there was another exit, but it looks like we'll have to go back through that room."

Jim nodded. He immediately began disheveling his uniform. Lucy took the hint and followed in suit. She shuffled her hair about, unfastened a top button or two, and feigned hyperventilating. Jim twisted his shirt from his pants, shuffled his own hair, and redid his coat buttons out of order.

"If anybody asks, I rocked your world." Lucy's seriousness was almost comical.

Jim nodded in agreement a little too fast.

Originally posted 6/29/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=141

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=142


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Where are they?" Shaw snarled. "What's taking them so long?"

The yeti growled back, sternly.

"There's no sense in us all getting caught. If they get captured, we'll need to escape immediately, Wendy."

Wendigo's retort was scathing.

"Geez, there's no need for that kind of language. You like them. I get that. But we've got debts to pay. We don't have time to take on charity cases."

The great beast ignored Shaw's protests. It had been some time since Wendigo shredded the harpoons' tow cables with his bare claws. Shaw booby trapped the clamps that kept the White Hawk in the landing bay, they were ready to leave any time.

"No," Shaw blurted out suddenly. "No, Wendy. We're staying right here. We're waiting for them."

The yeti continued to ignore his captain and look at the map more carefully.

"You're. A. Yeti." Shaw punctuated his speech. "You can't exactly go around unseen. How do you plan on helping any of them? We have no idea where Go is, so he's on his own. If you were to go anywhere, you'd have to go to the prison block to help the brat and and the mute."

Wendigo shot a slow, sideways glance at Shaw.

"That's your plan. You're gonna help those two. How are you going to get down there? How are you going to get back? You don't have a history of thinking these things through, pal."

"Emergency!" Cecil suddenly burst through the trap door. "Go's in trouble!"

The sound of marching feet echoed through the open door.

"Cecil, you fool!" Shaw cursed, "you lead them straight to us!"

Originally posted on 7/2/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=142

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=143


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Evelyn. It's been a long time." Go spoke slowly, assessing his options.

"It has," she agreed quickly, "it has indeed. Where on earth have you been hiding yourself? I've looked everywhere for you?"

"Is that so?" Go did his best to examine the enormous red crystal suspended in the room behind Evelyn.

"Of course it's so, dear husband," she said. She was clearly trying to feign compassion, but Go began to wonder if she even had that emotion anymore. "Why did you run away?"

"Do you really not know?" Go gave Evelyn his full attention.

"Would I ask if I did?" Evelyn retorted. Go knew she would.

"Do you not recall hating me and vowing to end my life? It made for a pretty uncomfortable marriage."

"Oh, that! Yes, I remember now. I also remember why I was going to kill you. But that's behind us now. I have found room in my heart to forgive you and let you and yours back into my good graces."

"Is that so?"

"You keep saying that. Why? Don't you believe me? Granted it took me a long time to grant forgiveness. I'm afraid five or six daughters didn't quite survive my period of anger. But I'm better now. I'm ready to be a family again."

Go could no longer read Evelyn's sincerity, and he grew tired of this charade. "No, Evelyn. I will no longer be a part of your games. I loved you once, and I am sorry that what I did hurt you so much, but I refuse to accept that your evil actions are my fault. You made your choices. You followed your own way, and now you are too far gone. You're not the woman I fell in love with."

Evelyn's facade vanished instantly, replaced with genuine vicious cruelty. "Lynn was the first to die," her voice dropped an octave. "When I caught her, I couldn't control myself. I ripped her body apart inch by inch. Her screams still echo in my mind."

"Stop it. What are you saying?" Go was horrified.

"Then came Lana. I had a bit more control of my temper by then; but not by much. She wouldn't stop crying. The dragon hatchlings were hungry. The problem solved itself.

"Please stop," Go pleaded.

"Lu was an absolute charmer. All she ever wanted was to please me. But when she couldn't lead me to you, It pleased me to have her buried alive. I sat by and listened to her screaming stop. It was music to my ears."

"No more."

"Lily was fantastic. I learned so much from her, like how to extract the most material from Paladin bodies for the construction of this fortress. But as you know, learning takes so much time. It took her weeks to die."

"Enough. Silence." Go's anger swelled with every passing moment.

"Lora was my crowning achievement. Such a beautiful girl. She carried herself with such grace. I think I wear it better, though." Go noticed Evelyn's armor, and realized what she meant. She wore black stone created from the remains of Lora.

"You monster."

"Monster? I've been called that more than once today. Who else was is? Ah, yes. Lenore called me that."

"What have you done to Lenore?" Go was furious and ready for a fight.

"Nothing, yet. I was planning on letting her live so we could be a family, but no. You had to be so selfish. You couldn't let the past be the past and move forward with our lives together. Now she's going to die in the most horrific way I can muster, and it's all thanks to you."

"NO!" Go exploded with rage. He drew his stone which took the shape of a thin rapier which he thrust at Evelyn's heart. With a grim smile upon her face, Evelyn sidestepped the strike and redirected the blade's course with her armored hand.

"Tsk, tsk. For shame, dear husband." Evelyn's hands and forearms changed into the shape of broadswords. "How dare you lash out at your poor, defenseless wife. You are not the man I married." The Dark Lady leapt at Go, aiming her strike for his neck.

Originally posted on 7/4/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=143

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=144


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"You found her!" A guard exclaimed the moment Jim walked in with Lucy.

Lucy kicked herself for forgetting that she looked exactly like the captured princess. She wished she had come up with a better plan utilizing that fact, but it was too late now.

The prison block was manned by three guards, two in heavy armor and an officer clad in official uniform. None of them were aware of the princess' escape, so to find her recaptured meant they would avoid an untimely demise by Lady Evelyn.

"Where was she? Speak soldier!" The uniformed guard ordered Jim about. Jim opened his mouth wide enough to demonstrate his missing tongue. "I see. I'll expect a full written report." Jim nodded, but had no intention of delivering.

The armored guards relieved Jim of Lucy and took her down to the prison cell where they assumed they'd find it empty. Jim watched with anticipation as they opened the cell door to discover Princess Lenore still occupying it. "What is this?" a guard shouted. Lucy took that moment of distraction to stomp on one of the guard's foot. The stone floor gave way and swallowed up the guard's foot.

Jim leapt on the uniformed guard and used a tomahawk handle to choke him. The guard resisted his assailant as long as he could muster, but soon the lack of air to his brain rendered him incapacitated.

Lucy struggled with the two heavily armored guards surrounding her. Jim hurled a tomahawk at one of them, but all it succeeded in doing was to further enrage the soldier when it bounced off his armor. Jim ran to close distance, but wasn't fast enough to stop the soldier from collecting the tomahawk and turning it on Lucy.

Lucy looked up to see the sharpened edge of the tomahawk glint in the light before it was brought down toward her. "No!"

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=144

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=145


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"I need you both to put your weapons away and follow my lead. I can get us out of this, but you have to trust me." Cecil whispered almost too quickly to be comprehended.

"Trust you?" Shaw was incredulous. "You've compromised our position. And how are you going to explain the bodies?"

"No time to explain! Come on!" The pair stoically disobeyed. "Please?"

Wendigo was the first to relent, but only after growling a grim ultimatum.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Shaw said, holstering his own weapon. The trio immediately left the scene of death behind and moved quickly out an alternative exit, one they kept barred until now.

Minutes didn't have the chance to pass before they were stopped by a squad of armed guards. "Halt!" was the command given. Cecil obeyed, not trembling with cowardice, but stern and confident. This body language was effective in instilling trust in his compatriots, who likewise obeyed the command.

"Identify yourselves," the squad commander barked.

Handing over the forged papers Go created for him, Cecil spun his tale with such simplicity, even Shaw was impressed. "I am Kyle Graves, High Interpreter for Her Magnificence, The Holy Empress. I am on assignment to oversee a prisoner exchange. The Honorable Ambassador Snowfall has apprehended the wanted fugitive Shaw De La Horn. We were on our way to brig when you stopped us."

"My apologies, your grace." He bowed gracefully before returning the papers to Cecil. "Please allow us to escort you to the brig."

There is no need for your entire squadron to be diverted from your duties. However, an escort of two should suffice to prevent any further delays."

"Quite right." The squadron leader picked two soldiers out of his squadron to assist the trio's path to the Brig. "These soldiers are at your disposal, your grace."

Cecil gave the curt nod expected from someone of his cover identity's standing, and were immediately escorted to the prison area. Upon their departure, he growled something that only Shaw and Wendigo could understand.

Wendy growled back.

The soldiers were curious about the exchange, but knew full well it was beyond their status as mere soldiers to inquire as to the nature of what such high ranking officials communicated to one another. If they had been higher ranking, Cecil would simply have to come up with another lie. There's no way he'd let these two know that they shouldn't expect to live through the next few minutes.

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=145

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=146


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The sound of stone striking stone echoed through the fortress halls. Despite his advancing years, Go was faster and more agile than Evelyn. But despite his speed, anywhere he struck, his blade met with her impenetrable full body armor.

"I haven't made you mad, have I, love?" Evelyn taunted. "I do so hate when we fight." She threw a massive slash in his direction, which he easily dodged. When her strike hit the ground, the floor began to crumble away. Go leapt back again and again trying to outpace the crumbling floor.

Go found himself cornered in a dead end hallway with just enough of an edge to stand. About thirty yards away, Evelyn just stood there, with a menacing grin on her face.

She took one long stride right into the chasm. Just as her foot would have fallen through, an extrusion of stone shot right out of the wall. This happened again and again with each step, each extrusion retracting as she stepped off it.

Every time the black stone shifted around her, the red gem imbedded in her breastplate flickered. This light caught Go's eye and gave him an idea. He took one step off the ledge and fell into the floor below, The ground shifted into a slide for him to land smoothly.

"You shifted my fortress? YOU SHIFTED MY FORTRESS?!" Suddenly, spikes and spires of rock shot at Go from the walls around him. More than one tore through his clothes and scratched up his skin, but his nimble, unpredictable motions, combined with his ability to sense and stop short the potentially fatal strikes allowed him to make some distance away from Evelyn.

He returned to the room with the enormous red stone. "So that's how you control the ship. You're connected to it. You slay Paladins make the black stone. You murder your fellow Fallen for the control jewel. How many? How many died to make this fortress of yours? How many souls did you trap here?"

"Almost enough to get started." Evelyn's footsteps fell heavily upon the stone floor.

"Started? No. You're finished." Go formed his sword into the strongest, narrowest, sharpest epee he could muster and aimed a perfect lunge towards the red stone upon Evelyn's breastplate. He moved fast; faster than she had time to react. All she could manage was a subtle sidestep, protecting her stone, but the blade passed clean through her armor through to the other side.

Go didn't expect to inflict so much damage. He only ever intended to wound his former wife. But his blade passed through her heart.

Or, it would have, if she still had one. The armor surrounding the Go's stone blade suddenly opened up and showed him that there was nothing there to hurt. 'Just how much of her body was gone?' Go wondered.

Go withdrew his sword and the hole in her armor reformed itself. "I know what you're thinking. Your wife has become a heartless monster. Well... I can't say I disagree."

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=146

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=147


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The tomahawk came down towards Lucy's head with frighting speed, and stopped just as suddenly. Lucy opened her eyes when she heard the weapon clatter to the ground. A drop of blood landed on her cheek. She looked up and saw the source of that blood.

A spear of stone shot out of the wall adjacent to door to Lenore's cell and pierced through the soldier's forearm before he could slay Lucy with Jim's weapon. The injury terrified both the guards.

The uninjured guard panicked and immediately ran away. Before he could get far, an unoccupied cell opened up like a mouth to swallow him. His screaming stopped suddenly.

Lenore passed out from the exertion of shifting so much stone so suddenly. The stone spear receded to it's original form, causing the guard to cry out in pain. His responce to the terror he experienced was to fight as erratically and dangerously as possible. He drew his sword with his good arm and swung it widely at Lucy.

Jim leapt on the guard's back, wrestling him to the ground. Lucy grabbed the dropped tomahawk, turned it to the hammerhead side and smashed it into the guard's helmet as hard as she could. He stopped moving.

Jim crawled off the guard when he accepted it was safe to do so, and took the sword for himself. He wordlessly picked up the princess in his arms. She sleepily opened her eyes and recognized her rescuer. "Jim. Jim..." She nodded off again.

"She's in no condition to escape. We can't exactly carry her without arousing suspicion." Lucy thought out loud.

Jim whistled the word for "close" and pointed to the door.

"You mean to lock us inside this cell? That would buy us time, but how would we get out again?"

Jim nodded his head at Lenore, then back at Lucy.

"Both she and I can bend the stones. We can get out of here as soon as she's awake. I hope it's soon. The others are waiting for us." Lucy trailed off as she got her first good look at Lenore's real face, not just the vision she saw from Jim's scar. They really did look alike. Go's story about identical septuplets seemed less and less far fetched.

Jim nodded at Lucy's statement, but just held Lenore in his lap, stroking her hair soothingly. He had found her alive. They were going to get out of this, together, one way or another.

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=147

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=148


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Lucy sat there in silence, watching Jim hold the sleeping Lenore in his hands. She watched Lenore draw shallow, trembling breaths. Her sister was exhausted. She began to wonder what evils they had done to her sister to leave her this weak.

Jim could feel how cold Lenore was as she laid in his arms. He had to assume the weeks and month he had been gone from. All he could do was hold her chilled body to his and pray the warmth would help heal her.

Lenore's breathing deepened and stabilized. Lucy caught the chance and turned her attention to her sister. After a few long, deep breaths, Lenore's eyes gradually fluttered open.

"Jim," she uttered, weakly.

All Jim could do was smile, nod, and try his damnedest not to cry.

"Speak to me, Jim. Tell me what happened." Lenore's weak voice was filled with a deep reaching compassion.

But at that request, Jim could no longer hold back the well of tears behind his eyes.

"He can't." Lucy explained.

Lenore's strength began to return incrementally. When she was able, she sat up on her own. For the first time she got a good look at Lucy. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Way she didn't get all of us."

"Us?"

"Sister, what is your name?"

"I'm Lucy."

"Lucy..." Lenore's voice trailed off and her gaze drifted away, as if trying too hard to remember a long, lost dream. "I am-"

"Princess Lenore. I know. Master Go has told me so much about you."

"Has he? I wonder how much. How did you find me, Lucy?"

"It's a long story."

"Tell me everything."

Lucy took a deep breath and began telling their story at the beginning. She told her about Jim and Cecil being sold as slaves to her uncle, and the grand adventure that followed. She explained in detail the atrocities Jim endured at the hand of the slavers, including the loss of his tongue. At that revelation, Lenore touched her mouth with her fingers and silently gasped in a mix of shock and horror. She listened intently, and infrequently probed for details.

"Jim, I'm so sorry for what I put you through. I cannot ask you for more. Please, return the shard to me and go home. I cannot bare the thought of more harm coming to you." Lenore extended a gentle hand.

A deep well of anger surged up inside of Jim. He shook his head and narrowed his gaze. His fierce visage immediately softened when he realized the extent of the cowering effect it caused on Lenore. But even with a softened gaze, he shook his head. Lenore understood that Jim was refusing her request. He vowed to see this through to the end, and she was beginning to understand that.

"I see." Lenore began. "Then we must make our escape quickly."

Jim jumped to his feet and readied his weapons. The girls looked up at him, then silently listened for the sounds that put Jim on guard. Footsteps. Three distinct sets of footsteps approaching the cell. Lucy kicked herself. How careless could she be? They did nothing to clean up the mess of dead or incapacitated guards. There would still be a guard's body right outside their cell door, leading them right to where they were. She intended to clean up as soon as their strength returned, but lost track of time.

Both sisters stood up and prepared their minds to take control of the stone walls to execute their discoverers. An agonizingly slow approach was heard, or perhaps it was that their own perception had become accelerated.

The footsteps had become separated. They weren't together. They'd have to act quickly to maintain the element of surprise. Just as the footsteps were carefully maneuvering around the guard's body, the sisters threw open the door and Jim leapt to the attack, much to the startled bewilderment of poor Cecil, who promptly ducked and assumed the fetal position.

"What do you think you're doing, Jim?" Shaw called out, severely annoyed.

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=148

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=149


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Lucy helped Lenore to her feet. Jim put his weapons away and helped Cecil up. When Lenore stepped out of her cell, Shaw immediately saw the family resemblance between her and Lucy.

"Great, now there are two of them." Shaw quipped.

"Unfortunately that's all that's left." Lenore breathed uneasily.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"Evelyn tortured me for information regarding the shard. She made me experience the deaths our sisters suffered. I counted them. There were five deaths. We are the only ones left." Lenore's eyes went unblinkingly wide as she recounted that miserable experience. "I can still hear them..."

"We're getting out of here." Lucy encouraged her sister.

"You're going nowhere, Princess." The guard Jim made black out regained consciousness and was holding a glowing red crystal.

Wendigo immediately leapt upon the guard making the threat, but it was too late. The guard smashed the crystal on the ground. The floor started giving out. Everyone scrambled to grip onto something, but one by one they all fell into the chasm.

Jim awoke in darkness. A dim red aura filled the room, gently lighting everything. His eyes slowly adjusted to the shadows surrounding him until he began to make out the shapes of bodies all about him.

"No! No please! I was loyal! I don't deserve this!" The guard's cries fell on deaf ears. He pounded on the walls with his fists, but was suddenly stopped. The guard screamed out in pain as inch by inch his body turned into the same black stone material the entire fortress was constructed with. His arms were rung out like rags, and his water left his body. His screaming stopped when his chest collapsed. What once was a guard now appeared to be a blackened statue of jerky. Then his remains were absorbed into the wall itself.

Jim scrambled to stay away from the wall. The splashing of water on the floor made him realize just how many bodies this fortress had to consume to maintain it's gargantuan size. He looked about frantically for his comrades.

Lucy and Lenore were floating, unconscious on the surface of the water. He roused them to waking before they sank. He placed a hand over Lucy's mouth before she could scream, and when she saw him, he put a finger over his mouth. She nodded and relaxed, then went to help Lenore.

Jim looked around for Cecil, who had the misfortune of landing face down in the water. He hauled his body out of the water and squeezed torso hard enough for him to cough out the water he swallowed.

Wendigo purred in the dark, letting Jim know he and Shaw were okay.

"Where are we?" Lucy whispered.

"We're in the stomach of the fortress." Lenore explained.

"What?" Shaw hissed. "How do we get out of here?"

"I don't know." Lenore lamented. "This is how Lily died."

"Who's Lily?" Cecil inquired.

"Our sister." Lucy estimated.

Lenore nodded. "This structure is designed to convert flesh and bone into the black stone."

Jim whistled.

"Jim says not to touch the walls." Cecil translated, then coughed.

"He's right." Lenore confirmed. "These walls were treated to destroy flesh."

At that moment, the water they stood in began to drain. Everyone was on edge. Once the water level was little more than occasional puddles, they could hear something awfully loud. The sound of stone scraping across stone echoed and increased.

Jim noticed it first, but everyone caught on quickly. The walls were closing in.

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=149

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=150


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The party huddled around each other in the center of the room as they tried to stay as far away from the slowly approaching walls as possible. Cecil looked about, not understanding any of it, but catching on enough to stay with the group. Lucy and Lenore shared a greater feeling of dread to their situation than the others. Shaw looked about frantically, searching for a way out. Wendigo growled and pounded on the floor, which did not give way at all.

Jim couldn't believe it. 'We came all this way,' he thought. 'I found her. We're all here, together, in one place. Everything I sacrificed, everything I am, is about to become their weapon. I'm going to die in here.

'Is this really how it all ends? This is it? Huddled here, cowering, awaiting the inevitable? This can't be happening. I refuse to accept this.

'I lost my health, my freedom, my tongue... I gave up everything I am to be here, now. I can't give up. I have to do something. I have to THINK!'

Jim looked over at the girls. 'No good. They're paralyzed. Terrified. They could bend this rock and save us all. They could at least try. Why won't they try?

'They've given up. They're too afraid. I have to wake them up. I have to take action. I have to get them to do something. But what? How? What can I do?'

In that moment, Jim had an idea; a stupid idea. But sometimes, even in times of extreme danger, a stupid idea can change the course of events. Jim charged the wall.

"Jim! NO!" Lucy yelled.

He pulled the closest thing to a weapon he had, the mirror shard, unwrapped it, and stabbed it into the wall.

Go hit the ground with a crunching sound. He looked up at the balcony Evelyn threw him from to meet her gaze. His eyes widened, then he rolled out of the way to avoid the fatal strike Evelyn attempted to deliver by leaping down upon him. It took him longer than he'd care to admit to rise to his feet.

"Give in, dear husband. What do you honestly have to live for?"

Go refused to give Evelyn the benefit of a conversation. The time for words had passed. She had successfully driven him away from the crystal that controlled the whole station and spent more time toying with him than earnestly seeking his demise. But this cat had had enough of toying with her mouse. The vicious playfulness had vanished, replaced by a relentless need to obliterate.

Go was trapped. All his strength was devoted to preventing Evelyn from attacking him with the walls around him, and his willpower was wearing thin. He had struck fatal blows against parts of Evelyn's anatomy that no-longer remained. He couldn't wrap his brain around what she had become.

"Playtime's over." Her voice was sullen and remorseless. She shifted her entire right arm into a mighty scythe and held it high above Go's head.

He closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable, when she unexpectedly screamed out in pain and collapsed to the ground, clutching her abdomen tightly.

The entire room shook the moment the mirror shard touched the wall. The walls stopped moving, and everyone inside, Jim included, took a moment to realize what happened. Without reservation, Jim raised the shard again and struck at the wall.

"NOOO!" Evelyn cried, writhing in agony. Go marveled as he witnessed true anguish and fear in Evelyn's cries. He did not know what force had suddenly saved him from certain death, but discovering it would have to wait.

Evelyn seemed to know what the problem was, and used all of her focus to form a massive tunnel through the bowels of the fortress directly towards the room Jim and the others were in.

"You have the shard!" She screeched and dived in after them.

Originally posted on 7/6/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=150

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=151


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Jim took a step back when a tunnel opened itself in the chamber wall, spilling daylight into the dark room. Everyone squinted or shielded their eyes from the sudden and drastic change. Jim leaped back instinctively, narrowly avoiding Evelyn's lethal strike.

Wendigo was the first to have his eyes adjust to the new light, and he witnessed Evelyn, in all her rage and fury, lashing out again and again at Jim, who could only just barely see enough to avoid her blades. The yeti roared and charged at Evelyn. The dark lady took a step back and braced herself for the oncoming storm. Wendy slashed and mauled at Evelyn with unbridled fury, like a mother protecting her cubs. While the strikes did nothing to actually damage Evelyn, the force with which they were delivered did drive the woman away from Jim.

The boy rose to his feet and watched, mesmerized at the onslaught the furry beast unleashed upon the wicked woman. When Jim sensed someone behind him, he reflexively prepared to lash out, but saw it was Shaw. "You really gotta stop attacking teammates, kid. Come on!"

Shaw lead the group out the tunnel Evelyn created. But a thought occurred to Jim. The moment Wendigo turned his back on Evelyn, he was dead, and without the yeti to give the White Hawk flight, they were trapped here. Something had to be done. Jim turned around and readied the shard as a weapon again.

"Don't." a voice whispered into his ear. "Protect the sisters. They need you." Go passed the group passively. He exchanged a meaningful glance with Lenore, which did not go unnoticed by Lucy. Go turned to Lucy and handed her the remaining bit of shifting stone he carried and left.

He entered the flesh consuming room where Wendigo battled Evelyn. The beast had backed her into a corner and was not letting up for an instant. In that time, Go had regained a measure of his strength, and used it. Wendigo watched as the woman began involuntarily fusing with the wall behind her. Thinking this some trick or trap, Wendigo leapt back.

"Fear not, friend." Go whispered to Wendigo. "I'll handle this. Take your friends and leave, immediately." Wendigo nodded and escaped out the tunnel.

Cecil, who had an impeccable sense of direction, even in a fortress with shifting walls, knew that the impromptu tunnel Evelyn created offered them a short cut to the landing platform where the White Hawk sits. He navigated while Shaw took the lead. They weren't in the clear yet, so they were cautious not to be caught.

Meanwhile, Go just stared at Evelyn. "What have you become?" He wondered aloud. "What did you do to yourself? Is there any part you that's still human? that still feels?"

While the party waited for a patrol to pass by so they'd get a clear shot to the White Hawk, Lucy trailed behind to witness Go's fate.

Evelyn reached out with an enormous hand from the wall and gripped Go like a toy. Despite the agony his body felt, Go's mind was able to prevent him from crying out as his flesh was converted to the black stone.

Lucy cried out. "NO!" which got the attention of the guards. The party took cover as flying stars spun through the air after them. In her emotional state, she took control of the stars and killed the guards that released them.

Lucy and Lenore exchanged a glance and nodded, then they both sealed the walls behind them as they made a speedy retreat to the White Hawk.

Originally posted on 7/23/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=151

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=153


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Their cover was blown, Go was dead, and their only chance for escape was slim at best. They ran for all they were worth across the deck towards the White Hawk. The rain of spinning stars that hurled towards them cast a shadow like a tidal wave over them. Lucy and Lenore worked together to erect a wall between them and the fast approaching projectiles.

Most of the flying stars were stopped by the stone wall, but most is not all. With the wall blocking the view of the guards controlling their stars, some just buried themselves into the ground around their feet, while others began whizzing frantically to and fro around the escapees.

Cecil cried out in pain as one star sunk into his leg. He fell to the ground with a groan. Wendigo heard both noises, turned on a dime, and scooped up his injured comrade. Cecil was unhappy with the fact he was being carried like a baby by this great beast, but quickly reconciled his feeling with his situation. Pouting would do him no good.

Lucy caught the still exhausted Lenore as she collapsed running, and helped her run to the ship. Jim kept close, but trailed behind to make sure they all made it.

Shaw reached the ship first and immediately attacked the guards caught by surprise. He detested using dragon fire on his ship, but he couldn't think of a faster way to clean up the riffraff. Once he cleared the deck he started arming the cannons.

Shaw didn't clear the whole ship. Furious soldiers emerged from the depths of the White Hawk, ready to slay Shaw while his back was turned. Cecil didn't like being dropped on the ground so suddenly, but when he observed the carnage Wendigo unleashed upon those who would attack his captain from behind, he was okay with being kept out of it.

A deafening roar echoed through the bay moments after Shaw lit the first fuse. A fireball struck the stone wall the sisters erected with such power that it was shattered and exploded in towards the fortress. The noise caused Jim to become worried that he would become deaf as well as mute. He covered his ears as he ran towards the ship.

One by one, additional fireball were launched from the cannons aboard the White Hawk, driving the Dynasty's soldiers to take cover. More stars whirred through the air, slicing randomly. Lucy took a hit for Lenore as they ascended the gangplank. Jim caught Lucy and helped everyone get on board.

Once the gangplank was pulled up, Wendigo took to wing. The clamps Shaw sabotaged came apart easily, as did the ropes Wendigo frayed. The

"Wendy, get us out of here!" Shaw took to the helm and steered the ship away from the fortress.

"I can't believe we made it." Cecil panted.

"It's not over yet!" Shaw shouted down to them.

Shaw was right. They crippled one launching bay, but the several remaining dragon aeries were well equipped, and four full grown, mounted dragons were fast approaching.

Originally posted on 7/30/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=153

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=155


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Shaw locked down the wheel at the helm and left the flying to Wendigo. Cecil and Lenore took cover below deck, where she attempted to remove the star from his thigh and bandage his wound.

Lucy and Jim followed Shaw to the bow of the White Hawk where he handed them hand-launched harpoon guns.

"Dragon-riders," Shaw explained, "are actually pretty simple to take down. Use these bolos to ensnare a wing and they're grounded."

"They're too fast!" Lucy complained as one of them buzzed by their ship.

"I said it was simple, I didn't say it was easy." Shaw thrust the launcher into Lucy's chest then ran to position. Jim quickly followed suit. Lucy took a moment to look over the weapon to make sure is fired right before taking a position herself.

The dragons circled their escaping ship twice. Their speed and ferocity caused Lucy to take a step back. Jim didn't want her to know he felt the same fear, and did his best to feign courage for her sake. Shaw stared down the dragons has he had countless times before. He knew how to handle this situation, but rare was the situation that more than two attacked him. Four dragons were unheard of.

Upon their final pass, the riders took formation and charged the White Hawk's starboard side. The quartet of flying lizards opened their mouths in unison. Lucy just stared as the dragons inhaled, their inner fires roaring and flickering light deep down their throats.

"Now!" Shaw shouted and shot his harpoon at the lead dragon's wing. The bolt struck and the bolo did the trick. The dragon's wing was crippled and both dragon and rider plummeted to the ocean below.

Lucy and Jim also fired, but they were too late. Had they obeyed the Shaw's command when it was given, they might have succeeded, but hesitating to see what the effect was, allowed the other dragon riders to see the oncoming threat and dodge the harpoons. Their formation was broken and now they faced 3 scattered dragons.

"Damn it!" Shaw cursed. "Get inside, hang on to something."

Jim nodded and pulled Lucy through the trap door with him. "Hang on tight!" Lucy shouted to Lenore and Cecil, who looked at her for a second before complying.

Shaw wrapped his leg in a rope tied securely to the ship. "Wendy! Drop!" he shouted.

Wendigo retracted his six wings and the White Hawk began falling out of the sky. The dragons followed suit. Shaw scrambled to get to a cannon. He had no hope of hitting anything with it, but while free-falling, anything less would not be heard. He looked around, watching the dragons trying to keep up. He lit the fuse, and moments later, the sound of a cannon blast echoed past the roar of wind as they fell.

That sound was the yeti's cue. He extended all six wings again and barely slowed the decent of the ship before it had devastating water landing. Two of the dragon riders were not so lucky. They were so intent that the ship not get away that they didn't even notice the ocean coming up on them so quickly. When they tried to stop, they didn't have enough time and hit the water with such velocity that it killed both dragon and rider instantly.

But one rider was wise enough not to be fooled by such a trick. He kept back, and when he saw the ship land in relative safety, he saw his chance to strike. He pulled back on the harness, and the dragon inhaled deeply, charging his fire breath.

Shaw knew that if this dragon got it's shot off, he was sunk. The boat was too bulky to dodge, even with Wendy flying it. He reached for his satchel of dragonfire pellets, but it was empty. He used the last of it clearing off his deck. He saw an harpoon gun sitting on the ground near by. He leapt for it, just to be cut short by the rope around his leg.

Shaw looked up at the dragon, powerless to stop it. He watched it begin to breath the fire that would inevitably incinerate his ship and everyone on board. He watched as an impossible harpoon bolt entered that mouth, piercing the dragon's skull and rendering the great beast dead. He watched the dragon and rider fall into the ocean before he looked over and saw who fired the shot.

Lenore dropped the harpoon gun to the deck, looked him right into the eye, and said. "This is some rescue." Before hobbling back under.

"No reward is worth this..." Shaw muttered under his breath.

Originally posted on 8/01/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=155

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=156


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Lady Evelyn opened her eyes in darkness. She willed corridors to open up before her. She formed her body out of the wall and walked directly to the room where the Mirror of Seeing was kept.

She stood before the mirror silently for several minutes. General Kilroy did his best to mask his nervousness from the Dark Lady. This did not go by unnoticed, and Evelyn made a mental note to congratulate the General on attempting to be in better control of himself.

"Have your researchers discovered yet what plot the Princess may incur with their broken shard yet?"

"No, my Lady. Not enough is known about the Mirror, and without further experiments on the remaining pieces, the mystery may yet go unsolved."

"I have new data for you. Perhaps with this information you can move forward with your investigation. I loath unpreparedness."

General Kilroy listened with great intent to the details of Lady Evelyn's story. How the shard was smuggled on board, how it caused agonizing, crippling pain to the Mistress of the Fortress just by touching it to the Black Stone.

"What shall we do?" Kilroy inquired.

"Have your analysts formulate counter strategies based on this new knowledge."

"What about you, my Lady?"

"What of me?" Evelyn turned a suspicious eye to her General.

"If such a simple thing can truly render you incapacitated, how shall we defend against it?"

"I have a simple answer to that question. I will find a new Master for this Fortress. A Master of Fi almost as powerful as I am."

Kilroy watched in wonder as the unconscious head of Master Go materialized out of the floor, followed by a body encased entirely in a masculine form of the armor Lady Evelyn wore.

"General Kilroy, meet Lord Go, the new Master of the Fortress." Lady Evelyn plucked the red stone from the center of her breastplate and placed it in the center of Lord Go's breastplate.

"Are you sure this is wise? Was he not your enemy?"

"Oh ye of little faith." Evelyn tore a length of cloth from her cloak and wrapped it around her hand. Then she used her protected hand to grip a shard from the mirror and held it like a dagger. With her free hand, she slapped Go across the face. "Wake-y, wake-y, husband dear."

Go suddenly awoke, and after a moment of recollection, realized what had happened. "What have you done to me?"

"I made it so we could always be together." She caressed her husband's cheek lovingly. His stoic expression masked his disgust at her touch.

"You gave me control of the fortress," he uttered his realization with surprise. Then his tone changed to one of cunning. "You shouldn't have done that."

Go began to focus his energy and attempt to destroy the fortress. Before he could shift a single stone, the Lady Evelyn stabbed the floor with the mirror shard. Go screamed like a little girl.

Evelyn enjoyed this reaction so much, the continued stabbing the floor again and again; long after her point was made. When she had left Go a quivering mess of a man, barely able to control his own mind, she stood up and said. "I will no longer tolerate any of your misbehavior. Your open defiance of me ends now. You are mine to command. Do you understand?

"Yes, my Lady." Go uttered between gasps.

"That, General Kilroy, is how I will avoid being incapacitated."

The General nodded approvingly.

Originally posted on 8/03/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=156

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=158


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The night was hauntingly still. The White Hawk drifted slowly across the ocean waves. Without a clear destination, Shaw decided not to make progress blindly. He waited and bided his time. He had large debts to pay, and repairing his ship from the attack it sustained would be

Wendigo was exhausted from his ordeal. The yeti slept in the bowels of the ship. He was unhurt, but in no condition to be flying anywhere. He assured Shaw that all he needed was a full night's sleep and he'd be recuperated in the morning, but with how he ached going down, he wasn't too convinced of that plan.

Cecil slept, too. His leg was expertly bandaged up, but it would be a while before he could walk again. He was certainly not cut out for all this running around and violence. He desired greatly to be anywhere else. He tossed and turned in his sleep, despite being so painfully injured. The memory of seeing his old mistress, Lady Evelyn, haunted him terribly. Buried memories surfaced in his sleep, manifesting as nightmares.

Jim sat silently. He ignored his aches and pains and focused on the thoughts in his head. They knew something now. Something important. Collectively everyone had a piece of the puzzle. The question was what would happen when they put it all together, if they could.

Lenore sat, quietly pensive. She had sacrificed so much in her life for her quest. The words of that woman who called herself 'mother' echoed in her mind. She had called Lenore's quest nothing more than childish disobedience. So many men had lost their lives in the hope to see her desires come to be. If she gave up, their sacrifice would be in vain. But if she continued, how many more would die. What right did she have to choose the fates of so many?

Lucy couldn't cope with the loss of Master Go. She felt she had lost more than a friend. She sensed a connection with him that ran deeper than her relationship with her uncle. She held his stone in one hand and her mother's stone in the other. There were subtle differences in the stones that might not be seen by the casual observer. She wondered why she ended up with Go's stone; why it was gifted to her.

"You all are way to quiet." Shaw's interrupting voice jarred everyone who was still conscious out of their silent introspection. "We can't just sit here forever. We need a destination. And, more importantly, I need to get paid."

Jim, Lenore, and Lucy glared at Shaw's apparent greed. "What? You think this ship pays for itself? You're on a clump of wood in the middle of the ocean. Fish gets old after a while, and when we run out of food, or drinking water, or any number of supplies, we will die out here. Money is like blood. You may not like talking about it, but see how long you can live without it. And right now, you're bleeding me."

Lenore suddenly saw in Shaw someone who would not become yet another devotee who would sacrifice his life just because she asked. This filled her with an unexpected sense of ease. "If money is all you care about, then that's what you'll receive."

"Thank you, Princess." Shaw sat down with them. "Now, where are we going?"

Originally posted on 8/06/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=158

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=159


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

"I have a destination for you, Captain Shaw." Lenore spouted with a formality that seemed instantly insulting to him. "If you would be so kind as to set sail for Aedom Isle. I have contacts there with the forces necessary to launch a counteroffensive against that Fortress. They will have the money you're owed for rescuing me."

"Princess," Shaw said with a nod before turning and preparing to set sail. Wendy would have to sleep a little longer, so they'd have to sail the traditional way. "Jim, lend me a hand?" It sounded like a question, but was more of a polite command.

Jim hesitated for a moment, then left to help Shaw. Lucy smiled weakly at him before he departed; that smile did not go unnoticed by Lenore.

"He's a good kid." Lenore confided in Lucy. "I may never forgive myself for what I put him through. I miss the sound of his voice. Were I him, I would hate me."

"He doesn't hate you. Everything he's done, he's done for you." Lucy pleaded, hoping Lenore would understand.

Lenore favored Lucy with a small, understanding grin. The enormity of the world around them weighed heavily on Lenore's shoulders, and it showed in her eyes.

Then she changed the subject.

"Why wasn't Master Go the one to come rescue me? Where was he?"

"I'm not sure. He said he had to find something. It all happened so fast... Cecil went with him."

"We should talk to Cecil." She decided.

"Someone wants to talk to me? It has been a long time since anyone's said that." Cecil whispered.

Lucy blushed slightly for her less than kind attitude towards Cecil, but remembered what he did to garner that attitude and the embarrassment vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Yes, Cecil. I need you to tell me everything that happened between you and Master Go."

Cecil relayed in superfluous detail the events that transpired from his own point of view. He paraphrased the words of Go describing the Red Stone they found in the bowels of the Fortress. Then he let slip the detail that he recognized Lady Evelyn before she began her fight with Go. He tried to continue his story with how he met up with Shaw and Wendy to rescue the girls from the prison cell, but the cat was out of the bag.

"You know Lady Evelyn?" Lenore wasn't really asking.

"Oh... did I say that? I- I must have misspoke..." Cecil scrambled to cover his faux pas, but the glares the girls gave him forced him to accept the truth of his situation. He was caught and there was no getting out of it.

He began his story slowly. "I my service to the Lady Evelyn began long ago. She was different then. She was human. She was kind." Cecil felt physically ill as he expounded upon his experiences. "There was always this sadness behind her smile. Something ate away at her from the inside. I never knew what it was. She was loved, adored, but nevertheless, she was lonely.

"Then, one day, something inside of her changed. Her sadness vanished, but her smile disappeared with it. In it's place was an insatiable cruelty. I watched as she would torture my friends and fellow servants... for fun. She wasn't angry with them, she didn't hate them... She was practicing; perfecting the art of inflicting suffering on others. Their lives stopped having any meaning to her.

"One day, she seemed to experience a flash of remorse. My number was up, but rather than put a long, painful end to me, she banished me, and sold me into slavery. Whatever caused her to feel that moment of compassion, I owe my life to it."

Originally posted on 8/08/13 at empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=159

For a sneak peak at the next chapter, go to empowernetwork (dit) com/leewhittaker/?p=160


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